The superfight between UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo is one step closer to reality. According to UFC president Dana White, Aldo’s hesitation to accept the fight at 155lbs — his coach Andre Pederneiras earlier this week called for the fight to take place at a 150lb catchweight — was because he wanted to be paid like a champion when he is the challenger against Pettis. However, White said those ‘issues’ were taken care of on Wednesday night, and now the fight is back on track. The bout is expected to take place sometime this summer, possibly at UFC 175 during 4th of July weekend in Las Vegas once Pettis recovers from injury. It’s also expected that Aldo will vacate the 145 lb. title in order to challenge Pettis for the 155 lb. belt. White said that if Aldo beats Pettis, he will stay at 155, but if he loses to Pettis he will have the option of staying at 155 or going back to featherweight and getting an immediate title shot. If Aldo does indeed move up to 155 to fight Pettis, White said the world’s top MMA promotion is targeting a five-round fight between Chad Mendes and Cub Swanson to crown a new UFC featherweight champion. This is the same matchup I called for in a piece for CagePotato last week. However, I think it makes more sense for Aldo to keep his featherweight belt until the result of the Pettis bout is known. That way, if Aldo loses and thinks he made a mistake going to 155, he can at least go back to 145 and still have his belt. In the meantime, Mendes and Swanson would fight for an interim title. But it sounds like the UFC isn’t interested in having Aldo keep the title while he is in training camp for Pettis, even though it’s not necessarily fair for Aldo to be forced to give up the title he worked so hard for. Regardless of the logistics of the featherweight title, the fight between Aldo and Pettis seems destined to happen in 2014 and it will be one of the most highly-anticipated bouts on the calendar if so. Both Aldo and Pettis are two of the most dangerous pound-for-pound strikers in the UFC and they match up very well stylistically against one another. The fight would more than likely be a dynamic stand-up affair, one that would thrill and excite fans for 25 minutes. And in a year in UFC without Georges St. Pierre or Anderson Silva fighting, the promotion needs to put on as many fan-friendly fights as possible. That’s why I expect White to do everything in his power to make this fight a reality. It’s too bad Pettis is currently on the shelf with injuries because the process of signing bout agreements for the superfight with Aldo would likely be moving along much quicker. But the good thing is Pettis will be fully healthy and recovered when the fight with Aldo goes down, and that means the fans will truly get to see a contest between two of the best fighters in the world regardless of weight class.
