Jose Aldo turned down Kenny Florian

"Here’s the thing, Jose Aldo’s been talking about moving up to 155lbs. Well, we had a slot and said, 'alright, you want to move up to 155lbs and fight Kenny Florian?' and he said, 'uh, never mind'. It depends on what this kid wants to do. If he wants to stay in the WEC and defend that title, that’s cool, but they were talking at one point about moving to [155lbs] so we talked to him and said, ‘how would you like to move to the UFC’s ’55lb division and take on Kenny, and they turned it down."

Ed Soares apparently said they wanted to stay at 145lbs for now. He wants Aldo to defend his title at 145lbs for now.

Mark Hominick looks to be his next opponent Im not overly thrilled to hear that, I dont think Hominick even diserves a title shot off the back of a SD like that.

His other possible opponent is Josh Grispi if he wins next WEC against Erik Koch.

There has also been talk of Omigawa coming to WEC and I think he would be more qualified to be a title contender than Hominick, maby even after an initial debut fight.

I understand Aldo turning the fight down. Honestly the guy is probabally smaller than Edgar, Edgar cuts only a few lbs to make 155lbs but Id be supprised if Aldo is cutting from over 155lbs. What do people think is he undersized? He is only 24 after all and might fill out a bit.

Its frustrating because im sure most think he has a shot at being a champ at 155 but I think he is better to wait a year or two. Also id rather see him matched up with someone like Stevenson or Ben Hendo in the WEC first who can overpower him to see how he copes with a much stronger grappler. Next I think Gomi would be Ideal. To see if he can trade again with a bigger guy. If he comes through Gomi yeah Kenny Florian is a great fight but Id rather see amother 2 defences and a fight or two at 155 to test the waters.

What are peoples thoughts on Aldo turning down the fight?

I think it's an ENORMOUS insult to Ben Henderson that Aldo is being offered this fight and he's not. HE is the 155 champ in the WEC and if they are looking to "fill a slot" it should be Henderson who gets it!

Michael_Bisping_Is_A_Cunt wrote:I think it's an ENORMOUS insult to Ben Henderson that Aldo is being offered this fight and he's not. HE is the 155 champ in the WEC and if they are looking to "fill a slot" it should be Henderson who gets it!

Agree, and if Aldo was to move up, why not give him a 155 WEC fight or two (including title fight?) before he makes the jump to UFC?

Exactly! A ridiculous move by the UFC.

The only reason they want Aldo to move up to LW is so he can join the UFC. They could care less if Aldo was WEC 155lb champ or 135 lb or whatever....

Yeah but then what is the point of the 155 division in WEC?

Basically they are saying that it is a shit division with no-one of quality to go up to the UFC if the only guy they are willing to try there isn't even in that weight class.

I know Aldo is an awesome fighter, but it mlust be a kick in the teeth for the rest of them who are aiming to get there. Why bother having a WEC 155 at all if it isn't seen as a stepping stone to the UFC?

Exactly! And Henderson, Varner and Cerrone could all do well in the UFC LW division. Especially Henderson.

Oh well looks like the 'announcement' makes this obsolete, as Henderson's last WEC fight will be a No1 contender fight for UFC!

I actually think Henderson could beat Maynard or Edgar. I don't think he's necessarily better than either but he's got a wicked guillotine which could catch Maynard who can be a little careless at times. I think he's got what it takes to beat Edgar though.

Not sure he's quiet deserving of a title shot just yet, and the guy he's fighting certainly isn't. If either was to win the belt the UFC would be faced with another situation of having a LW champ who's not one of the top 5 in the world in the weight class as they are now.

Anyone else think that if Aldo can make the 155 division comfortably and get a couple of wins then him against a fully fit and motivated BJ has the potential to be 1 of the greatest mma fights ever?

Oh yeah, Aldo vs BJ could be incredible. Really incredible. It'd be interesting to see how BJ would approach that fight. Would he want to stand and trade with Aldo for 3 or 5 rounds? His ego would probably dictate that he would!

Bj seems to believe in his stand up alot so would probably keep the fight standing.

Also be interesting to see what game plan aldo would come in with. Would he keep pushing the pace an look for a late stoppage or points win?

Aldo would work the leg kicks alot against BJ. BJ would for sure just try to box while Aldo would strike with everything he's got.

I think there's only so many leg kicks you can throw at penn before getting caught by a straight right hand. But then again there's only so many leg kicks you can take off aldo before you lose the use of your legs. I can't think of a fight I'd like to see more than this (providing Penn is up for it)

anybody think edgar and maybe florian may drop weight now the lighter guys are in, edgar looks tiny at 155.

i meant edgar once he loses the title to maynard.

Yeah I think once Maynard beats Edgar, he'll drop to 145 and fight Aldo. I don't think Kenny could cut to 145 to be honest.

I dont know why everyone thinks Edgar is going to lose. He has improved leaps and bounds since the last time they fought. I think he will outwork Maynard who i think will tire and not last the pace in the 5 round fight.

Edgar is a pretty good wrestler himself, even though Maynard is bigger, stronger and more of an accomplished wreslter.

I think Edgar will win and will compete at 145 lb aswell. Edgar has said today he will love to fight Aldo at 145lb and he reckons Aldo walks around bigger than him.

http://www.mmabay.co.uk/2010/10/30/frankie-edgar-expresses-an-interest-in-fighting-featherweight-champion-jose-aldo-inside-the-octagon/

“He’s running through people in the (1)45 division. A fight with him would be huge. It would be a guy my size. He’d be a very dangerous opponent. (A cut to) (1)45 wouldn’t be too hard for me. I wouldn’t be surprised if Aldo cuts more than I do.”

Aldo-Edgar would be a fucking great fight. The speed in that would be incredible.

Edgar has won all of his big fights using speed so what happens when he fights guys as fast as him? maybe he will resort to using his grappling.

Maynard has also improved massively and his performance against KenFlo was very very impressive. Maynard beat him easily the first time. His wrestling and boxing are better than Edgar who's only weapon is his speed. Maynard managed to negate that easily.

Not sure where you get the idea that Maynard will tire. A wrestler coming out of Couture's gym, one thing he will definitely have is cardio. BJ lasted with Edgar. It's not hard to match Edgar for 5 rounds because he doesn't engage. He hits and runs away, jumps in and out. He probably engages for less than 90 seconds per round. Maynard will have no problem lasting with Edgar.

Edgar, for me, is a lesser version of Faber, not as quick, not as powerful, not as good a wrestler, and Aldo destroyed him. I think he'd do the same to Edgar.