Dana White’s Not on Board With Jose Aldo’s Bantamweight Talk

Jose Aldo recently raised eyebrows when he reported he’s interested in moving to 135 and fighting bantamweight champ, Henry Cejudo. Well, it looks like Dana White was also surprised by the news, as the UFC President’s dismissed the idea outright.

Aldo’s hope to fight Cejudo

Recently Aldo reported that he met with his camp, and that they determined he could likely cut to 135 if he wanted. As a result, the former featherweight champ is targeting a fight with Cejudo, and the latter sounds interested in the match-up.

White’s take on Aldo’s plan

Well, following the latest Dana White Contender Series event this week, White spoke with the media. Aldo’s idea of dropping down to 135 was brought up, and here’s what White had to say (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“Aldo sent me a text telling me he wants to do this, so we really haven’t talked about it, but I just … there’s no way that kid can make (135). There’s no way. No way.”

“Do you remember when he was the champ and how hard it was for him to make (145)?” White said. “And he’s not any younger, so I honestly haven’t even taken that serious. Love Aldo, and I want to do what he wants to do, but I don’t think I want to see him cut to (135). I don’t think that’s going to be good for him.”

Ya, if you’ve followed Aldo over the years, then you know his cut to 145 never appeared to be easy. In fact, for a long time there was talk about him moving up to 155, not heading the other way.

But, you never know. Aldo has already responded to White with the following tweet:

@danawhite
when I talk about something I”m talking seriously and for real. I already made a test and I can make this weight!

Guess we’ll see what happens. Based off White’s comments though, it’s hard to imagine the UFC granting a shot at 135 right out of the gate. He would likely need to defeat a top bantamweight contender first, if not two.

The Brazilian star is looking to get back on track after he lost via decision to rising star, Alexander Volkanovski in May. Prior to that Aldo returned to the title shot mix at 145 by taking out Jeremy Stephens and Renato “Moicano”.