Nova Uniao coach Andre
Pederneiras recently expressed confidence that Jose Aldo
would not retire following his loss to Merab
Dvalishvili at UFC 278. However, he was not able to confirm
that Aldo would compete at UFC 283 in Rio De Janeiro in
January.
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Three weeks have passed since that fight and Aldo’s next move
remains uncertain. In an interview on the YouTube talk show
“Cara a
Tapa,” Aldo told journalist Rica Perroni that he still hasn’t
decided on his next step. The former featherweight champion
revealed that he has been approached by the UFC to fight in Rio de
Janeiro, but he hasn’t given the promotion an answer because he
hasn’t yet decided if he is going to retire.
During the interview Aldo was also asked about who he considers to
be the greatest Brazilian fighter of all time, and he didn’t think
twice in his response.
“That´s easy, myself,” he said. “I won the title twice, dropped my
weight, and I could very well get an opportunity to fight for the
title again. I respect everyone’s history, but I’m the best. I took
on a new challenge, I lowered my [weight class], I lined up
everyone, I did it for the title, I lost, I recovered again and I
was doing well until I stumbled again. I’m the [best Brazilian] in
history.”
While Aldo is convinced of his status at the national level in
Brazil, he admits that competition for the all-time MMA GOAT is
more difficult. According to Aldo, former UFC champions Demetrious
Johnson and Georges St.
Pierre deserve to be in the discussion, as does former Pride
heavyweight champion Fedor
Emelianenko. The Russian has been mentioned by Aldo as one of
his inspirations in the sport thanks to the long unbeaten streak he
enjoyed during his peak.
“Of achievements like that, [there is] Demetrious
Johnson, who is a [lighter] weight that nobody talks about
because he is tiny. But Georges was also a big name,” Aldo said.
“But for me, [it’s] Fedor. For me, he’s one of the icons.
When the guy stayed 10 years [undefeate]), I said: ‘Damn, I want to
beat this guy’s record.’”