Jose Aldo's sly swipe at UFC over Khabib-McGregor chaos
The man famous for being knocked out by Conor McGregor in 13 seconds has weighed in on the controversy that overshadowed the McGregor-Khabib fight in October.
For those unaware of the chaotic scenes that escalated at UFC 229 – Nurmagomedov beat McGregor via submission, before scaling the fence and launching himself at Dillon Dannis – meanwhile all hell broke loose in the octagon itself.
Jose Aldo lost his featherweight belt to the Irishman in spectacular fashion at UFC 194 in 2015, and says he understands Khabib’s reaction given the pre-fight trash talk he weathered.
”I understand the reaction of Khabib,” Jose Aldo told ESPN.
“No, it’s not his fault, we shouldn’t blame him for his actions.”
Aldo was undefeated in seven fights in the build-up to his blockbuster bout with McGregor, and many believe his downfall was a result of the world-tour promotion prior to the fight.
The Brazilian was never given the chance to get his revenge on McGregor, but he’s made it clear who is to blame for the post-fight chaos – and he even took a sly dig at the UFC in the process.
“Because it’s the UFC letting McGregor do whatever he wants, in the past and here in New York,” Aldo added.
The Nevada Athletic Commission has since announced that Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor will both remain suspended at least until December because of a brawl inside and outside the octagon after their match in Las Vegas.
Commission Chairman Anthony Marnell III said the suspensions will last until an investigation is complete.
But if Aldo had his way, Khabib would be getting off scot-free:
“So it’s not Khabib’s fault. No time, no nothing for him.”
Robert Whittaker set for UFC title defence in Australia
UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is in the process of being booked for what should be his long-awaited first title defence.
And it will take place in Australia.
Ahead of UFC 230 in New York this weekend, the company’s president Dana White revealed the news that the 27-year-old American fighter Kelvin Gastelum would face Whittaker.
“We do. We’ll announce that when it’s time. It’ll be in Australia,” White told ESPN.
ESPN reported that the UFC “is targeting February 10 as the date for a pay-per-view event in Melbourne”.
The Sunday event in the Victorian capital is slated to be UFC 234 and would be beamed back into the United States as a primetime Saturday night show.
Melbourne’s Docklands stadium hosted UFC 193 in 2015, drawing a record 56,214 crowd.
In November 2016, 13,721 fans watched Whittaker headline Fight Night 101 at Rod Laver Arena.
Whittaker and Gastelum were rival coaches on the recent Ultimate Fighter TV series.
The Australian was set to defend his title against Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 in Perth earlier this year but pulled out to due injury.
When he put it on the line against Yoel Romero in June at UFC 225, Romero missed weight and gave up the chance to win the title.
With so many question marks over the middleweight division, White has already taken steps to sign an alternate for the fight.
“You know the crazy stuff that goes on around here,” he said.
Chris Weidman, a former champion who defended the title three times before losing it to Rockhold in 2015, appears to be the frontrunner.
He will fight at UFC 230 this weekend for his first appearance since July 2017.
with Yahoo Sports US.