Jose Aldo: T.J. Dillashaw 'the best opponent next' after UFC on ESPN 31 win
Jose Aldo wants to fight fellow former longtime UFC champ T.J. Dillashaw after a main event win at UFC on ESPN 31.
Jose Aldo knows exactly who he wants to fight next after defeating Rob Font at UFC on ESPN 31.
Aldo (31-7 MMA, 13-6 UFC), the former UFC featherweight champion, earned his third consecutive win in the bantamweight division Saturday with a unanimous decision win over Font (19-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Trending toward a title shot, Aldo is realistic about the state of the weight class, which is waiting for a title unification bout between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan. The next title shot behind that could potentially be up for grabs, though, and Aldo thinks it makes the most sense to battle T.J. Dillashaw for a No. 1 contender position.
“Of course I want to fight for the title but we don’t know what’s going to happen with that,” Aldo told Daniel Cormier through an interpreter during his UFC on ESPN 31 post-fight interview. “Dillashaw’s right there, so I want to fight Dillashaw. That would be the best opponent next.”
Dillashaw (17-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) was recently victorious in his return to competition from a more than two-year layoff due to a USADA suspension, as he beat Cory Sandhagen in the UFC on ESPN 27 main event in July. He had since been sidelined recovering from surgery, but has repeatedly stated his desire to fight for the title next.
A fight with Aldo would be logical, however, especially after the Brazilian put on a brilliant display against Font. Aldo had multiple knockdowns and roughly nine minutes of top position time against Font, and he said it was a performance that showed he’s following his goal to strive toward being a more well-rounded fighter.
“Everyone thinks I can only go three rounds but I proved I can do five and I want to be a champion of this division and I’m still working for that,” Aldo said. “We’ve been talking about this, to become a complete MMA fighter. So yes, I’m going to be standing up and when it goes to the ground I’m going to work down there. This is the new Aldo you’re seeing.”