UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo is taking on UFC Interim Featherweight Champion Max Holloway in a title unification bout at UFC 212.
Aldo has been in verbal wars with opponents before and the fighter admits that trash talk does sell a lot of tickets for the fights.
“I think (trash talk is) great,” Aldo said at a UFC 212 press conference. “That’s what sells fights. That’s what brings us money. We’re in a generation that’s totally different from when I began in the sport. When I started in the sport, with the athletes and fighters, there was honor and respect among us – the whole fight philosophy. There’s high-end fighters, and then there’s real fighters. Today, if you don’t talk and provoke, you’re not going to fight anyone. You’re just going to stay in the end of the line because the rankings are no good. What really gets you somewhere is to talk about your opponent and sell your fight. That’s what matters today. I think that’s totally normal. My fight (against McGregor), I made a lot of money, so that’s what I think about today. I think about being the champion I always was, having this honor and respect in all these things I’ve learned, but I don’t need to maintain this good boy status. I need to get in there and talk trash.”
Holloway has been bringing the trash talk for his fight with Aldo, recently admitting that he wants to retire the Brazilian fighter.
The featherweight champion also believes that the fighters are better matchmakers than people believe them to be.
“The athletes are really the matchmakers these days,” Aldo said. “If the athletes go out and talk trash, the fight’s going to happen. I think it’s valid. I think it’s normal. When the fight is over, we each go our separate ways, but we’re going to have our pockets full, and that’s all that matters.”
UFC 212 takes place on Saturday, June 3 from the HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil with Jose Aldo and Max Holloway headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event.
