Roundtables
ROUNDTABLE: How long will UFC Champ Jose Aldo stay at featherweight? Will he move up to lightweight at all?
Jan 18, 2012 - 7:00:12 PM ROUNDTABLE: How long will UFC Champ Jose Aldo stay at featherweight? Will he move up to lightweight at all?

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

After clearing out most challengers in the featherweight division, how many more fights do you think Jose Aldo will have at 145 lbs. before a move to lightweight? Or do you think he will he stay in the division indefinitely?


RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST


Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of man? The Shadow knows. Unfortunately, I'm not The Shadow. The Shadow, to extend the metaphor (or is it an analogy? A simile?) is Jose Aldo. Only he might know what is in his future. But then again, maybe he doesn't. I know I have no idea what my own future holds, much less that of the UFC Featherweight Champion. So I cannot say with any credibility or claim to certainty where his future lies. That said, it looks like no one at 145 can hang with him, and there are a lot of challengers at 155. If this is the UFC's call, he'll stay at 145 because he's the closest thing to a draw at featherweight. 145 needs Aldo a lot more than 155 needs Aldo. Whether Frankie Edgar or Benson Henderson are the Lightweight Champion after their fight, there are still 42 gazillion compelling matchups for either fighter as champion. Aldo leaving 145 might make for more competitive title fights for the remaining featherweights, none of which would showcase a talent anywhere near the level of Jose Aldo. As much as I might like to see what Aldo can do at 155, I have no problem with seeing him dominate 145 like Georges St-Pierre has done at 170.


FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I don't feel as though Aldo needs to move anywhere. If he wants to move, that's fine, but I don't think he should feel as though he has to move. I've never liked the notion that a fighter has to move up in weight to prove himself. If Aldo wants to go to the lightweight division, that's great. However, he doesn't need to. It's not as though he's ducking challengers like Floyd Mayweather Jr. Regardless of what he decides to do, I believe that Aldo will dominate whatever the division he's in.


ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Jose Aldo has beaten everyone there is to offer in the featherweight division. Unless a contender steps up to the plate, I see Aldo maybe having one more fight, possibly against a former lightweight fighter that moves down. More than likely, he'll move up to lightweight for a super fight with a top contender there, or possibly even Frankie Edgar. Either way, don't expect Aldo to stick around in the featherweight division long.


ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I am not sure if he will fight again at 145. He has taken out basically every major challenge to his title and the cut seems like it's a tough one. At 155 he has many challenges and can find several big money fights on his way to the title. I think that he will win the Lightweight Title in early 2013.


BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I'd give him at minimum three or four more fights before he ponders a move to lightweight. Note; I meant it as it sounded, he will just ponder it. We've all talked about dominant champions changing classes before, but it generally never comes to fruition, at least not permanently. We've seen Anderson Silva go up to 205 and beat people up, but that doesn't mean he will ever stay at 205. The dynamic of a dominant champion is always going to be more predominant in their home weight class, and for Aldo that's at 145. I believe he will fight at 155 after not too long, but I do firmly believe he will keep his belt at 145 and just dabble in the division above.

There's not a lot of incentive for Aldo to make a full time switch to 155, because hell, the guys a beast of a champion where he is now. Jon Jones isn't going to leap to heavyweight, GSP isn't going to move up to middleweight, and Frankie Edgar isn't going to make the move to welterweight. The man is making a boat full of cash defending his title time after time, so unless he has a particular guy at 155 who he wants to go beat up for the challenge or the fun, I don't see him taking a whole lot of fights there. In the end the only person to make the decision is Aldo himself, and hopefully he sees how most have failed in moving up weight classes for a new challenge, a la B.J. Penn.


MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

The UFC clearly likes having a dominant champion atop each division, so I think as long as Aldo can still safely make the cut, he'll stay at 145. There's still guys like Chan Sung Jung, Hatsu Hioki, Erik Kock, and Dustin Poirier waiting their turns, so while Aldo has defeated plenty of top challengers, he's lucky enough to be fighting in a division that's replenished the contender ranks quickly. Lightweight is doing just fine with Edgar at the top and Henderson, Diaz, Pettis, Lauzon, et al nipping at his heels (not to mention Gilbert Melendez... eventually), so as long as Aldo's body can make it down to 145 (and he's only 5'7, so its not like he's THAT big for featherweight) I think that's where he'll be for at least a couple more years.