Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy or sign-up through one of those links, you won’t pay a penny more but we’ll get a small commission that helps me in running this blog. Read the Disclosure page.
Former UFC featherweight champion Brazilian Jose Aldo says he has long been asking the promotion’s management to arrange a fight with American Dominick Cruz, but so far to no avail.
Jose Aldo, who took his first bantamweight win back in December against Marlon Vera, is hoping to take on Dominick Cruz. He thinks this is a big fight that makes sense for the division.
“It’s a big fight to make, Dominick and me, because of our importance [in the sport],” Aldo said to MMAFighting. “We were both WEC champions and then came to the UFC as champions, so it’s a big fight to make.”
Jose Aldo originally hoped to fight Cody Garbrandt, but Aldo says the UFC was not interested in this fight. Now that all five of the best players have been booked, the Brazilian is looking away, so he wants Cruz to be eliminated next time.
“We ended the [Vera] fight last year and asked for Dillashaw and Garbrandt and now I have none,” Jose Aldo said. “I’m on the dance floor without a dancing partner [laughs]. But we’ve been asking for Dominick Cruz for a while now and that’s a fight everybody asks for. We’re expecting to fight him. But I don’t know if it will happen, right?”
Jose Aldo also knows he has what it takes to compete for the bantamweight title, which is why he is interested in Cruz. He knows that the former lightweight champion is still difficult for everyone.
“He’s a great fighter, has always had great performances,” Aldo said. “If it wasn’t for his injuries he would still be competing for titles at the top. Injuries have been an issue for him, he hasn’t been in the UFC what we were used to seeing from Dominick Cruz.
“I’ll always see myself as a title contender, there’s no escape,” Jose Aldo continued. “Becoming the champion is all I think since the moment I moved down to this division. I’m ranked No. 5 now and I want to fight more often. You can be sure that sooner or later we’ll grab that belt.”