Opportunity has knocked for Jose Aldo.
The former champion who was perceived as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA will fill-in for the injured Frankie Edgar against UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway on Dec. 2 in Detroit at UFC 218.
Aldo called for the shot to get retribution against the Hawaiian on social media, and his wish was granted by UFC matchmakers on Saturday.
Aldo, who went undefeated for nearly a decade before a knockout loss to Conor McGregor two years ago at UFC 194, rebounded by defeating Edgar for the division’s interim title in July 2016. The first meeting between Aldo and Holloway was packed with drama, seeing the Brazilian excite the crowd in Rio de Janeiro in June at UFC 212 before a left-right combo floored Aldo, who took too many clean shots on the ground and eventually was stopped due to punches to crown the 24-year-old the new champ.
Jose Aldo stepped in to preserve a top main event for Dec. 2’s UFC 218 card at Little Caesars Arena, the organization’s first card in Michigan since Rampage Jackson-Lyota Machida headlined the Palace in 2010.
Cub Swanson was one of a number of other of the division’s contenders who were speculated as a potential replacement for Edgar, but it was Aldo who was ultimately pulled from his scheduled bout against Ricardo Lamas on Dec. 16 at UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. dos Anjos. It’s unclear if Lamas will remain on that card. Swanson, who’s only two losses in his last dozen bouts have been to Edgar and Holloway, could still push his way into a title bout with a win at UFC Fight Night 123 on Dec. 9 against Brian Ortega and extend his winning streak to five.
The rest of the card set to emanate from Little Caesars Arena has otherwise remained intact, so Michigan MMA fans looking forward to the promotion’s return will keep their fingers crossed.
A look at the newly revised card (updated):
Pay-pier-view main card
UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway vs. Jose Aldo
Alistair Overeem vs. Francis Ngannou
Henry Cejudo vs. Sergio Pettis
Eddie Alvarez vs. Justin Gaethje
Tecia Torres vs. Michelle Waterson
Preliminary Card on FS1
Paul Felder vs. Charles Oliveira
Alex Oliveira vs. Yancy Medeiros
Drakkar Klose vs. David Teymur
Felice Herrig vs. Cortney Casey
Preliminary Card on UFC Fight Pass
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Sabah Homasi
Jeremy Kimball vs. Dominick Reyes
Allen Crowder vs. Justin Willis
Amanda Cooper vs. Angela Magana
For more news and updates on UFC 218 in Detroit and MMA, follow Bryan on Twitter @BryanEversonPRS and our official account @ThePit_SE.
