UFC 207 will be the final marquee event for MMA’s top promotion in 2016 and so far the main event features the massive return of Ronda Rousey, in a main event clash with Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight title.
If the return of the darling of the UFC were not enough, an incredible rumour started spreading through social media channels yesterday, a rumour that put former featherweight champion Jose Aldo on the UFC 207 card, in a co-main event clash with men’s bantamweight king Dominick Cruz.
The rumour all started with a foothold in reality as Jose Aldo headed for Las Vegas for ‘clear the air talks’ with UFC president Dana White. Aldo announced his intention to quit the sport following White’s announcement that McGregor would face Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 next month, so yesterday’s meeting was, presumably, an effort to reopen the lines of communication.
Around the same time that these talks were taking place, the Aldo vs Cruz rumour started taking hold on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Axelgudjon/status/788784374397407238
From there, fans took over, with many agreeing the fight could be huge.
Jose Aldo vs Dominick Cruz Super Fight at #UFC207?
Uh, RIP, Dom. #TeamAldo
— Maximum Power (@TheMaximumPower) October 19, 2016
Aldo vs Cruz? Is this actually happening?
— Erich (@ehummelAtHome) October 19, 2016
Aldo vs Cruz super fight is happening! 🤑
— Mmatweet (@Imadmma) October 19, 2016
https://twitter.com/R_Pace97/status/789039850825486337
@Batesyk7 Rumour Aldo v Dominic Cruz UFC 207. Be hell of a scrap that
— Ricky Harries (@RickyHarries) October 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/rossmarkclark/status/789049438790705152
With Dominick Cruz having previously stated his desire to step up to featherweight and, like the current featherweight champion Conor McGregor, challenge for another division title, there was certainly a massive element of credibility to a rumoured Aldo fight.
Add this to a recent interview given by Dana White on UFC Tonight where he stated, in relation to Cruz,
“I don’t know if I’ve met anyone in my life with worse luck than this kid.
“In his entire career, it’s just been one thing after another. Some really, really good news is coming Dominick Cruz’s way.
“So knock on wood this kid can stay healthy. Some really good news is coming his way.”
When pressed to confirm whether Cruz will be added to the fight card for UFC 207, where he’d almost certainly be the co-main event below Ronda Rousey’s return, White smiled,
“It’s possible.”
However, based on the comments from Aldo following his meeting with Dana White, it seems a massive bucket of cold water appears to have been poured on the rumours of a clash between the two.
It appears that the world has yet to learn that believing everything you hear online is a bad idea. Following the erroneous rumour last week that Conor McGregor had been knocked out in training, his coach, John Kavanagh, reminded us all of this risky approach.
i want to believe pic.twitter.com/EBoKJr86wd
— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) October 10, 2016
So there you have it. Once again it appears that social media has put the cart before the horse, only for it all to end up in a heap. While it would indeed be intriguing to see Aldo step into the octagon with the bantamweight king, Cruz, it now seems fans will be left to merely dream of such a contest.
Though the Brazilian is, following his meeting with White, no longer insisting on his exit from the sport of MMA, instead saying that the UFC has ‘always been supportive of my career’, there appears still to be a long way to go before Aldo steps back into the octagon.
This point appears to be reiterated by Aldo’s compatriot Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino
Jose Aldo and the UFC failed to come to terms at today's meeting. Nothing's changed. https://t.co/NznABMDzUr
— @CrisCyborg Grand Slam Champion (@criscyborg) October 19, 2016
So where does all this leave us? Well, Aldo is still out, and a fight with Dominick Cruz is certainly not even close to booked. However, the potential bout would make a lot of sense for countless reasons and, should the Brazilian resolve his dispute with the UFC, he would be hard pushed to find a better comeback clash.
Watch this space…
Gary Brennan, Pundit Arena
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