Jose Aldo’s decision to request his release from the UFC and essentially walk away from his mixed martial arts career was years in the making and resulted from what he believes was a repeated pattern of disrespect.

Globo revealed the news Monday that Aldo was unhappy that he hadn’t gotten a rematch with featherweight champion Conor McGregor and planned to walk away from the sport that had made him rich and famous.

Aldo is the former UFC featherweight champion who is ranked fifth pound-for-pound. He went more than 10 years between losses while compiling an overall record of 26-2.

Aldo and manager/trainer Andre Pederneiras, in separate lengthy interviews Thursday with Yahoo Sports, each listed numerous reasons why the man who is regarded by many as one of the top-three MMA fighters ever, is leaving the sport while still in his prime.

“It’s not just one thing or two things or three things with the UFC,” Pederneiras said. “If on the one hand you take the level of disrespect that is embodied in things like giving him leftover fights on nine days’ notice and calling him a chicken when he says no; promising an instant rematch [with McGregor] and not making it happen and making it contingent on a fight with Frankie Edgar and then still not making it happen; the overall level of disrespect is so great.

“It would be disrespectful to anyone. But it hurts more because it’s disrespectful to a guy like Aldo. He was undefeated in the WEC, undefeated in the UFC, an incredible fighter to watch who leaves his heart in the cage every time and then who, as a person, as a human, embodies values that are so important to his community [and] to his countrymen that have made him beloved and made him an idol. It’s like, ‘Really? You can’t give this guy the respect he deserves?’ What more would he have to do to be deserving of more respect?”

The UFC declined to comment.

Jose Aldo doesn’t have much reason to smile after the UFC reneged on a promise for a featherweight title rematch. (Getty) More

Aldo said he has been offered contracts to play professional soccer in the past and said he will see if he can find a team that will give him an opportunity to compete in that sport.

He said his situation with the UFC has caused him to lose interest in fighting and said he has no plans to compete in mixed martial arts again, with the UFC or anyone else.

Aldo won the World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight title on Nov. 18, 2009, and held it until the organization closed. When the WEC was absorbed by the UFC in 2011, he held the title from that point until he was knocked out in 13 seconds by McGregor at UFC 194 on Dec. 12 in Las Vegas.

He wanted an immediate rematch with McGregor, but the UFC instead chose to allow McGregor to pursue the lightweight title in a fight with then-champion Rafael dos Anjos. When dos Anjos was injured and pulled out of the March 5 fight in late February, the UFC offered the bout to Aldo on 10 days’ notice.

It would have been a lightweight bout and not for a title. Aldo, who was on vacation at the time, declined. It instead went to Nate Diaz, and when Diaz beat McGregor at UFC 196, McGregor insisted on a rematch and got it at UFC 202.

Last week, UFC president Dana White told Yahoo Sports he was making a bout between lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and Khabib Nurmagomedov because Nurmagomedov is the No. 1 contender.

White said at that point he wanted McGregor to fight Aldo for the featherweight belt. But on Monday, White went on SportsCenter in a bizarrely timed announcement that came only minutes after the presidential debate and announced McGregor would face Alvarez for the lightweight belt in the main event of UFC 205 on Nov. 12 in New York.

That was the final straw for Aldo, though it was hardly his only point of contention with the company.

“First of all, my dissatisfaction is not about not getting this fight with Conor McGregor,” Aldo said. “My dissatisfaction has been brewing for a long time. Before my loss to McGregor when I had to pull out of our first fight [scheduled for UFC 189 in July], I was not happy with the way the UFC spun my rib injury. I was not happy to see them mischaracterize my injury and not support me as I had to pull out of that fight.

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