Monday was weird. You should probably know that right off the bat. And the result, sure, it was great if you favor spectacular fights, but not so much if you subscribe to the whole ‘earning title shots in your own division' thing.
To recap, over the weekend UFC President Dana White revealed that featherweight champ
Jose Aldo didn't think too highly of fighting No. 1 lightweight contender
Anthony Pettis. "He's absolutely refusing to fight Pettis,"
said White. "Doesn't think he deserves the shot." White later sent a thinly-veiled threat Aldo's way, essentially implying "Scarface" will do as he's told or suffer the consequences.
It didn't seem to matter much though, as early Monday morning Aldo told Brazilian outlet
Tatame that he would be willing to fight Pettis, but only -- and he was very specific -- in a non-title bout. The reason? Pettis didn't deserve a shot at the belt. That honor belonged to
Ricardo Lamas or
Cub Swanson, Aldo explained, before seemingly blasting the UFC's matchmaking practices.
"Who deserves a chance in the first place is Ricardo Lamas, because he has beaten
Erik Koch, who was the next contender. He earned the chance after the victory," said Aldo (translated by
Five Ounces of Pain). "Cub Swanson is another too. They are athletes in the division, struggling for a long time for a shot at the belt, which never arrives according to opponents the UFC is scheduling.
"They created a ranking that is not serving for anything, because they're pulling people from other divisions. This is only happening on my weight, I see it nowhere else.
"It is an injustice to others," Aldo concluded.
Considering his last two title defense will have come against former lightweights, Aldo had a point. Although that sentiment didn't sit well with UFC officials, so it wasn't altogether surprising when Dana White sent out
this pair of tweets a few hours later.
"Aldo vs. Pettis is ON!" White proclaimed, then adding, "Yes Aldo vs. Pettis and it's for Aldo's UFC 145-pound title."
Presumably the UFC sweetened the pot enough for Aldo to fall back in line, and that appeared to be the end of story. Or at least it was, until
Tatame broke word that an aspect of the deal brokered by Aldo awarded the Brazilian an immediate title shot at lightweight should he emerge victorious.
I'll go ahead and repeat that. If Aldo beats Pettis in August, he'll instantly fight the winner of
Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez. And yes, if you're asking whether Aldo just took advantage of the exact same practice he was campaigning against hours before, you're right.
So, just to get everything straight, the No. 1 lightweight contender just became the No. 1 featherweight contender without fighting at featherweight, but the featherweight champion also stole the No. 1 lightweight contender's mantle as the No. 1 lightweight contender, unless he loses to the new No. 1 featherweight contender, in which case he's no longer the featherweight champion. Like I said, Monday was weird.
