Jose Aldo Leaving UFC? Fighter Requests Release, Bellator Makes Offer

You can be a champion for a decade and still feel that respect is lacking. In the UFC, Jose Aldo was just such a man. The Brazilian MMA fighter that held the UFC Featherweight championship and was unbeaten for ten years winning 26 of his 28 contests, has seen it all go downhill since his loss to Conor McGregor.

Aldo is a man who saw a lot of backtracking since he lost his championship. He wanted a re-match with McGregor for UFC 205 and at the last minute saw it reversed. He was told a rematch would depend on if he could defeat Frankie Edgar but saw that match pulled as well. As Aldo manager/trainer Andre Pederneiras explained to Yahoo.com, "It would be disrespectful to anyone, but it hurts more because it's disrespectful to a guy like Aldo."

Jose came into the UFC as an undefeated fighter and champion of a rival promotion, the WEC, when it was absorbed by Dana White.

But after winning the UFC Featherweight championship, he went on to establish himself as one of the two or three best fighters in MMA. But after having to pull out of his first match with McGregor and then after losing to him being denied a rematch, he was only offered one with nine days notice and was chastised for that. It appeared UFC was pulling his chain with matches scheduled then withdrawn.

Now Aldo, who leaves as interim UFC Featherweight champion, was under the impression that he would unify against McGregor or if Conor won the Lightweight title that he would have to relinquish his Featherweight one. When it was announced that would not be the case, Aldo, who publicly stated that he is not an employee of McGregor's and stated that he had the freedom to leave, has chosen to do so as reported in MMAWeekly.com.

He allegedly received an offer from Bellator MMA, a promotion that has more Hispanic fighters and respects and brings more opportunities for them. White says that he is not willing to let go of Aldo. Aldo appears ready to go to court. "I think Dana and the new owners have to understand that there's a completely unsatisfied employee who doesn't want to continue," Pederneiras pointed out.

If Aldo desires to continue his MMA career in Bellator, their president, Scott Coker, may want to listen to his Featherweight champion Patricio Freire, who is willing to fight and posted on his Twitter, "MMA is not only about UFC, I'm waiting for you."