Fjäderviktsmästaren José Aldo (25-1) kallar det tillfälliga bältet som UFC skapat, för UFC 189, för en leksak som Conor McGregor (17-2) kan visa upp för sina fulla vänner i Irland.
Under gårdagen kom beskedet om att fjäderviktsmästaren José Aldo inte kan tävla vid UFC 189 på grund av sin revbensskada. UFC tog istället in Chad Mendes som nu ska möta Conor McGregor för det tillfälliga bältet vid eventet. Aldo har under natten släppt ett uttalande kring varför han drog sig ut från galan samt vad han tycker om UFC:s beslut att skapa bältet som han betraktar enbart som en leksak:
”I’m the UFC champion since April 2011, defended my belt seven times in four years, and will do it for the eighth time in 2015, an average of twice a year. And I’m not even mentioning WEC, a Zuffa-owned company, like the UFC, where I became the champion in 2009 and put my belt on the line twice in less than a year. That why I can’t agree with UFC’s decision to have an interim champion in my division citing the five opportunities that I couldn’t defend my belt.
If those fights had occurred, I would have done 12 title fights in four years in the UFC, an average of three fights a year, something that no other UFC champion did. A UFC champion rarely does three title defenses in one year. So that can’t be the main reason why they are creating an interim title, but the UFC is a private company which I work for, so I can’t complain about its decision, but I can’t say I agree either.
As of my opponent, who told me to step up and fight like a man, I can’t say anything about a man that imitates a TV series character (Travis Fimmel, from Vikings). That’s really who he wanted to be, because he’s probably ashamed of being who he really is, so he imitates his lines, his style and this actor’s tattoos. He’s an artist, but not from martial arts, but cheap comedy. It’s disrespectful with the actor, and with real athletes. He should look for a stage and not an Octagon.
The Octagon is my kingdom and there’s place for only one king, which is me. If he wants to participate, he can be the joker he already is. If he beats Chad Mendes, the only thing he will have is a toy belt to show his drunk friends in his country’s bars, because that’s what an interim belt represents to me: a toy. I am the champion”.
Foto: Patrick Jenkinson
