Gallery Photos: Best of Jose Aldo view 12 images

RIO DE JANEIRO – It was clearly an emotional win for Jose Aldo at UFC on FOX 30. But it still wasn’t enough to change the former UFC featherweight champion’s mind when it comes to retirement.

Talking to reporters in Rio de Janeiro last week, after the inauguration of a social project for children in the community near Nova Uniao’s training center, Aldo (27-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) confirmed that the plan is still to retire after his UFC contract is done – or sooner, should he re-claim his crown before that happens.

As Aldo said before his first-round finish of Jeremy Stephens, even if he were to retire without the crown, he would be satisfied with his legacy. Still, there’s one thing missing from his extensive resume.

And that is why, as he and the rest of the featherweight contenders await the developments in champ Max Holloway’s health situation, Aldo is still interested in taking a stab at the lightweight division.

“Given the opportunity, I want it,” Aldo told reporters. “Not because of the weight cut, but because I want to do a big fight. I think that’s missing in my career, testing myself a little against athletes in other divisions. That would be great. But I’m waiting to see what happens in my division to make that decision.”

Aldo’s weight cut, it turns out, isn’t even as bad as many people think, even if he likes to put on a bit of a show – “theatrics,” as he’d call it – in the process of getting himself down to 145 pounds.

Aldo also talked about the emotion after bouncing back from a two-fight skid, why he thinks women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg can “crush” anyone that stands across from her – perhaps even featherweight men – and why he agrees that he might currently the biggest name in Brazilian MMA.

Check out the translation below:

Q: We saw how emotional you were after the fight. How did it feel to get that knockout, with all that pressure that was on you?

There was some pressure. We were coming off two losses, we were fighting to win, basically. I didn’t care about the outcome, how the fight would go down, I just wanted the win. The emotion came from things we already had in our heads. But, man, I was very well-trained. I was focused. We knew the result was going to come and it would be now.

Q: Your celebrations are always emotional, but was this one different because you had that pressure to prove you were still “Jose Aldo?”

I think the pressure didn’t come from the media, from the fans, anything like that. I’ve made my history, there’s no erasing that. I already have a name, I have a legacy. I think it came from me. My family. Those close to me knew the emotion, what I went through in there. I think this win brought comfort to me and to them. That’s what I wanted, I wanted to win. And then, shortly after, there was my daughter’s birthday. I wanted to give her this gift. That’s what made the emotion complete.

Q: Were you really expecting a first-round knockout, or were you expecting a longer, tougher fight?

Now I can talk about everything I went through on fight week. I knew it would be hard for this fight to go all three rounds. Jeremy is a very tough guy. He’s a guy with heavy hands and if any of us missed, the fight could end. Thank God, I was able to finish it when I had the opportunity. Right in the beginning, Jeremy landed good shots. I was able to absorb them and hold on, and I knew from there, good things would follow. They did. I had a good opportunity and was able to land a good strike and finish the fight.

Q: What do you think about the future? Dana White says he’s not thinking of an interim title, he’s waiting for a definition from Holloway. What are you looking at? Maybe Brian Ortega, perhaps for an interim title?

We’re waiting to see what happens. First of all, I’m rooting for Max Holloway to recover and return to fighting. But, with him out, there’s no other way, I think they’re thinking of doing a fight directly for the title. I think it’s only fair, since both Brian and I are up there. But it’s very hard to say that now. We’ll see what happens. First of all, we need to hear from Max, to know what will happen in the near future and know which decisions to make.

Q: Conor McGregor sent a message, saying he was happy with your win. How did you receive that gesture?

I was happy, too. I think the gesture is normal. I think not only me, but everyone who know my history know – happiness. I think it’s the fight spirit. Fighting teaches us that, it’s only fair.

Q: Speaking of Ortega, Andre Pederneiras (head coach and manager) said in an interview that it’s a style of fighting that is even better for you than Max Holloway (check out Pederneiras’ thoughts on Ortega here). Do you feel that way, too?

Brian is a great athlete, he’s been on a great rise. But that’s up to Dede, because he knows a lot more than I do. I only go in there and fight.

Q: Did you watch Ortega’s most recent fights? Did anything about him impress you?

No, no. I don’t even like watching fights. We can talk about soccer, any other sport. NBA, football, which I’m passionate about and follow. But fighting? If there’s no one from the gym fighting, I usually don’t even watch the event. So it’s hard for me to say, I leave it up to my coaches. We’ll sit down, gather around, and I choose to focus on their highlights and strongest suits. So I’m with Dede there – whatever he thinks, I’m with him.

Q: Before the fight, you said you wanted to fulfil your UFC contract and stop. Did winning the way you did change your mind in regard to that or is the plan is still the same?

The plan remains the same because I want to be champion. I want to stop as a champion. I think we’re close, we never left there. That fight showed my quality and my potential, which are still up there. I still want to fight for the belt and if I get the title I’ll stop with the title.

Q: “Dede” also said in that interview that you going to lightweight was more about the weight cut than anything. Do you still think about going for a special fight there?

I do. I think Dede has speculated that for me. He’s been telling me about it. Given the opportunity, I want it. Not because of the weight cut, but because I want to do a big fight. I think that’s missing in my career, testing myself a little against athletes in other divisions. That would be great. But I’m waiting to see what happens in my division to make that decision.

Q: If you could pick any fight, either at featherweight or lightweight, to have. Conor, Holloway, Ortega. Who do you choose?

I leave it up to Dede because he’d choose better than I would. For me, whomever they put in there, from bantam to heavyweight, I’ll want to fight. There’s no difference between opponents for me, whomever it is, I want to fight. It’s what I do. It’s my job. So I always want to fight the best.

Q: On Saturday, people really celebrated your win. Do you see yourself as the biggest idol in Brazilian MMA now?

In Brazilian MMA, it could be. I could be considered the biggest, because everyone is stopping. And others are coming up. I think, now, the strongest name is Aldo’s. Like I always said, I respect everyone, but I think that’s the time now. I’m happy for the love I get, for the millions of messages of support and love that I get, that makes me motivated to keep training hard, winning and going toward the top.

Q:L After the fight, you were with Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and you’re two former champs looking to re-claim their belts. Did you talk about that, about your shared moment?

We’d been talking before, I knew Joanna before. We fought in the same card, so we took pictures, but I’ve known her for a while. The only times I didn’t root for her was when she fought one of our own, or if she fights them again. But I care about her a lot. I think she’s still the best athlete in her weight class. I see her becoming champion in the very near future. I think it’s a matter of time, because she has the will and the hunger for that.

Q: And what about a fight between champions Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes?

It’s hard to assess a battle between two Brazilians. I know and I like both of them. But I think Cyborg is way ahead. I know Amanda, she has good boxing, everything, but I don’t see anyone beating Cyborg. Cyborg’s my friend, we’re much closer, so I’m rooting for her. I think any woman who fights her will be crushed. If they put her to fight a man, I think she’d be a handful for any man in the UFC’s featherweight division.

Q: Afterward, Dede and (muay Thai coach) Emerson Falcao said in an interview that you contemplated not making weight and forfeiting part of your purse to get rid of the weigh-ins? How was that process?

It’s good that you brought that up. I’m usually the guy with the easiest weight cut in the gym. I don’t have much difficulty, I’m used to staying around weight. I’ve been making it strong. But if you look at me on weigh-in morning, I always do these theatrics. Everyone knows I’m going to do it. And that I will make weight. It’s because I’m a joker. There were other times, Dede took away all the clocks from the room, everyone’s phones, so I couldn’t control the time. Because I usually want to do the last round on the tub and go downstairs to weigh in. So it’s not that it’s hard for me to weigh in, everyone close to me knows I always do these theatrics. Dede always has one of the guys to be next to me, because he leaves the room and returns when it’s time to make the weight. It’s not that I have a hard time making weight, but it’s something I’ve been doing for a long time. It’s also why I’d like to test myself in the upper division, because I’ve been cutting weight since I started jiu-jitsu. I always make it. But this time I think it’s when I’ve felt better, physically, and felt better making weight. There weren’t complications. iI’s just something I always do. This time, it was with Emerson. Before, it used to be Marlon (Sandro) next to me. This time it was Emerson and he wanted to beat me afterward.

Q: Dede said he had to tell you that usually those who make weight lose the fight, that he made up those numbers to convince you to keep going.

That’s a lie, I already knew everyone who misses weight wins the fight. We had that in mind. Thankfully, everything is scheduled when we go there. He was all off-guard when I talked back. At one point I was in the tub, and he started saying these things, I’d respond and everyone was laughing, because it was so funny that he’d say these things and I’d say there were lies. But that’s normal. There was this time, too, when I was going to the tub and, when Reed (Harris), who’s close to us, entered the room, I threw myself on the floor and said I was debilitated. But when he told me to weigh in, I told him to get out, went to the tub and made weight with Leo (Santos). But everyone knows that. Of you ask around in Nova Uniao everyone will ask ‘How were the theatrics this time?’ It’s so common that even I’m getting used to it.

For more on the upcoming UFC schedule, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.

Other apps just deliver sports. The USA TODAY Sportswire app lets you pick specific team sites to get only the news that you want to know.

newsletter Get 10 hot stories each day Thanks for signing up.

Please check your email for a confirmation. Thanks for signing up.

Please check your email for a confirmation.