Jose (Junior) Aldo’s first title defence as UFC featherweight champion will be against Josh Grispi, according to reports.
Heavy.com reported that the fight has been proposed to both parties and if the contracts are finalized, Grispi will be pulled from his scheduled Nov. 11 fight against Erik Koch at WEC 52 and will instead face WEC 145-pound title-holder Aldo, whom UFC president Dana White announced Thursday immediately became its organization’s first featherweight belt-holder as part of the UFC’s merger with the WEC.
The bout will be featured as part of UFC 125 in Las Vegas on Jan. 1, which is currently headlined by the lightweight title bout between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.
According to the report, Thamesford, Ont.’s Mark (The Machine) Hominick was first offered the bout, but the Canadian broke his hand prior to defeating Leonard Garcia last month by split decision and his arm remains in a cast.
Hominick (19-8) told sportsnet.ca the UFC was looking for an opponent for Aldo (18-1) who had previously fought for the organization and was a well-known name for UFC fans. Hominick fought twice for the promotion as a lightweight in 2006, winning both bouts. He submitted Yves Edwards at UFC 58: USA vs. Canada and earned a unanimous decision over Jorge Gurgel at Ultimate Fight Night 5 before joining the WEC as a featherweight.
But Hominick, whose cast comes off on Nov. 16 and can’t train apart from running, said it’s very unlikely he would be able to fight on Jan. 1.
Grispi (14-1) defeated Hominick at WEC 32 in February 2008 and is currently on 10-fight win streak.
Aldo, who knocked out Mike Brown last November to capture the WEC belt and successfully defended it twice, has won 11 straight.
