The Jose Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis super-fight is officially a go.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the news via Twitter Monday night.
Aldo vs Pettis is ON!!!!!
— Dana White (@danawhite) February 26, 2013
Yes Aldo vs Pettis and it’s for Aldo’s UFC 145lb title
— Dana White (@danawhite) February 26, 2013
White had said on the weekend that Aldo, the UFC’s featherweight champion, wasn’t interested in the matchup against Pettis, suggesting the Brazilian’s camp didn’t believe the lightweight was deserving of a title shot in his first bout at 145 pounds.
But according to MMAjunkie.com, they were convinced by a promise that should Aldo emerge victorious over Pettis when they meet on Aug. 3, at a location to be determined, Aldo will become the No. 1 contender in the 155-pound division, where he had been considering moving anyway.
The organization decided to put together the featherweight title bout after Aldo defeated Frankie Edgar at UFC 156 earlier this month and Pettis, who had been waiting for lightweight title shot, texted White to say he wants to drop down and challenge the pound-for-pound stalwart.
It hasn’t been confirmed whether Pettis, currently the No. 2-ranked lightweight in the UFC’s official fighter rankings behind the champion Benson Henderson and current challenger Gilbert Melendez, will be back in line for the next 155-pound title shot should he beat Aldo. But that would make sense if he wishes to move back up to his original weight class.
Henderson and Melendez are scheduled to meet UFC on FOX 7 on April 20 in San Jose.