Jose Aldo looks on after being defeated by Conor McGregor in a featherweight championship mixed martial arts bout at UFC 194. (AP Photo/John Locher)
In the wake of UFC’s announcement of pitting Conor McGregor against Eddie Alvarez at the main event of the Madison Square Garden card, Jose Aldo wants to denounce his affiliation with the company.
READ: McGregor to face Alvarez at UFC 205 for lightweight title
The former longtime featherweight champion edged out Frankie Edgar for the interim belt at UFC 200 in July, and was hoping to finally get his rematch with the brash Irishman.
Instead, the Brazilian is furious that he got passed over again, adding that the promotion offered him a fight at UFC 205, but not with McGregor.
“I heard about everything that happened through my coach. He had spoken with [UFC matchmaker] Sean Shelby Saturday and Sean still had no answer about anything, and asked if I could fight on November 12,” Aldo told the Brazilian website Combate.
“I thought I’d get my rematch to unify the featherweight belts, or I’d have my belt back and fight Holloway or Pettis, since Dana [White] said all the time that Conor couldn’t keep both belts. But, to my surprise, I heard last night about the fight between McGregor and Eddie Alvarez, which was also denied by Dana last week. And to make it worse, he would keep the featherweight belt, and possibly having two belts at the same time,” he added.
Upset with the sudden turn of events, Aldo said he no longer wishes to fight for the premier promotion.
“After all this, I see I can’t trust any word from president Dana White, and who’s in charge of the promotion now is Conor McGregor. Since I’m not here to be an employee of McGregor, today I ask to cancel my contract with the UFC,” he said.
“After being fooled so many times, I don’t feel motivated to fight in the UFC anymore. If [White] likes me and my family, I just hope he release me. I don’t want a fight. I want to leave as I came in. Nobody gave me anything. I conquered everything. And I gave them a lot more than they gave me back. I just want them to release me from my contract.”
White, meanwhile, responded to Aldo’s plea and denied his request to be released.
“We won’t cancel his contract. We know he got very emotional. We respect Jose Aldo very much,” the UFC president said in a separate report.
“We care for the people around him. Khabib Nurmagomedov wanted a fight on the card and we got it for him. I’m sure we can find something nice for Aldo, as well.” Khristian Ibarrola