UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo will not be competing at UFC 208 against Max Holloway or any other fighter for that matter, as he is now claiming that at UFC 209 in March, he will fight a yet to be named opponent for the UFC Interim Lightweight Title.
?I believe they will soon announce an interim lightweight title fight with me. They've been trying to find me an opponent, and ? surprise, surprise ? at least one has already turned down the fight against me. I'm waiting to see who they will find. They've asked me not to say anything. I won?t say who it is because it?s a surprise. A guy we never thought would turn it down turned it down, because his father didn?t think it was good. I'm tired of people turning down fights. I want to put some pressure so they'll take the fight,? Aldo said to MMA Fighting?s Ariel Helwani.
The statement implies that the person in question is Khabib Nurmagomedov, whose father often comments on his son's career path.
Current UFC Interim Featherweight Title holder Max Holloway, who just won the belt back at UFC 206 over former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, was the first to respond to the news.
Not to be outdone, Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is currently ranked #1 in the lightweight division, issued a statement of his own via Instagram:
UFC 209 is taking place on Saturday, March 4 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with no headliners announced as of yet.