Roundtables
ROUNDTABLE: Should Jose Aldo have to vacate his UFC Title to fight Anthony Pettis for the Lightweight Title?
Feb 10, 2014 - 3:35:51 PM ROUNDTABLE: Should Jose Aldo have to vacate his UFC Title to fight Anthony Pettis for the Lightweight Title?

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Should Jose Aldo have to drop his title to face Anthony Pettis for the Lightweight Championship? Why or why not? Do you expect the fight to actually happen at this stage?


DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK COLUMNIST

If he makes the transition to lightweight, even for one-fight, then yes he should relinquish his title. But the UFC should also follow through with the guarantee that if he loses this lightweight fight with Anthony Pettis, he should get an immediate title fight at featherweight. Let's face it, the UFC are devoid of many genuine money makers right now so they can ill afford to lose headlining championship fights, even in the lower weight-classes. A No. 1 contender fight just isn't the same, so by attaching a title belt to it, you still has a credible main or co-main event pay-per-view fight.

I do think this fight will happen in the late summer; both parties want it, and more importantly so does Dana White. That leaves Chad Mendes and Cub Swanson free to fight for the vacant title, with the winner facing off against Aldo at the end of the year. If Aldo takes the belt with him, then featherweight becomes stagnant much like bantamweight did when Dominick Cruz got injured and no one wants to see that happen. I hate Interim Titles and they should only be awarded when a champion has a significant injury, nothing less and that includes jumping weight-classes.


KALE HAVERVOLD, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I believe he should. I think 155 lbs. is a much more natural weight for him; also, he has pretty much cleaned out the 145 lb division and I would like to see him against some new opponents. It is too early to tell if it will happen for sure, but both fighters seem to be interested in it.


CAMERON LYMAN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

I don't think that Aldo should have to drop his title. What if he drops his title when the fight is announced, Swanson is set to face Mendes for the vacant belt, and then Aldo or Pettis are injured for the long term? To me this doesn't make sense. Jamie Penick's proposed solution of an interim belt at 145 lbs. makes the most sense to me. I do fully expect this fight to happen at some point but won't subscribe to the idea that this is a superfight just yet, given that Pettis is yet to defend his title.


BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I personally don't think so. During the talk of Silva vs GSP or Jones vs Silva the idea was never really brought up. A superfight is just that unless the fighter is planning to change divisions. At this point it doesn't seem as though Aldo plans to make the change permanent so just let the fight be title free. Aldo is a long reigning champ, if he wants to test another champion leave the belts as they are.


FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I don't think he should. If he loses, he'll get an immediate title shot against the Interim champ so why bother vacating? It's all semantics. If he wins, let him choose what to do. This allows him to say he's a 2-division champion at least for a little bit. The UFC is also able to book Aldo vs. Pettis as champion vs.champion. I do think the fight happens. I think there's just too much on the line, especially for the UFC. There's no clear #1 contender in either the featherweight or lightweight divisions so I think they'll push for this fight. Money talks.


JAMIE PENICK, MMATORCH EDITOR

The UFC can and should introduce an Interim Title at featherweight if he moves up for this fight with Pettis. He shouldn't have to just give up the belt if they have another option for keeping the division moving along.

If they introduce an Interim Title, then it accomplishes what Dana White was trying to set up with his comments on Saturday night. If Aldo moves up and defeats Pettis, he'll be a two-division Champion, but he'll have to defend one or the other. The UFC will then want him at lightweight, and the featherweights like Chad Mendes and Cub Swanson competing for an Interim belt can be made the official Champion at that time.

Now, regardless of whether he drops the title or they make an interim Championship, he'd be in a title fight at featherweight whenever he dropped back down. So it's just an issue of semantics right now and having Aldo officially be Champion coming into the Pettis fight or having him drop the belt for that bout. If he's paid the same regardless, and is guaranteed a title fight at featherweight upon coming back, then it's just a matter of what they can convince Aldo to do.