Jose Aldo will defend his UFC Featherweight belt for the fifth time this summer and for the third time against a fighter coming down from the UFC’s lightweight ranks.
Anthony “Showtime” Pettis will be the man making the extra ten pound weight cut this time. Pettis who is a top contender for the UFC’s Lightweight champion asked Dana White via text after Aldo successfully defended against Edgar last Saturday to get the next shot at the 145 champ.
USA Today first broke the story this morning after speaking with the UFC President Dana White whom they quoted as saying, “Two of the baddest dudes in the fight business are going to fight at 145 pounds. These guys are two of the most amazing, gravity-defying athletes in the sport. I am so pumped for this fight.”
A venue is yet to be determined for this date as of now.
Pettis 16-2 overall is 3-1 so far in the UFC since he came to the organization as WEC’s last Lightweight champion.
Pettis took the belt in a decision victory against then title holder and now current UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. In that fight “Showtime” delivered one of the most memorable kicks in MMA history when he jumped off the side of the cage to land the flying kick to the head of Henderson.
In Pettis’ first fight in the UFC he dropped a decision to Clay Guida as well as his shot at then lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Since then, Pettis has rattled off three straight victories over Jeremy Stephens, Joe Lauzon and Donald Cerrone. The last two fights earned him Knockout of the Night awards for both events.
The 22-1 Jose Aldo hasn’t lost since 2005 and is on a 15 win streak including going 8-0 in the WEC and 4-0 so far in the UFC.
The champ has won 13 of his fights by knockout and 2 by submission. The champ is known for his pin-point striking and vicious kicks. While it is his striking that garners most attention it is not to be forgotten that he holds the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, is a four time Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion, and world jiu-jitsu champion.
