Jose Aldo wins interim featherweight UFC belt, calls out Connor McGregor
— -- LAS VEGAS -- Jose Aldo is an interim UFC champion. Now, about Conor McGregor.
The longest-reigning titleholder in featherweight history, Aldo rebounded from a shocking 13-second knockout loss to McGregor in December by defeating Frankie Edgar in an interim championship fight at UFC 200 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
Aldo (26-2) expertly countered the smaller Edgar, busting him up with jabs, right hands and a beautifully timed knee up the middle. Edgar (20-5-1) kept plugging away at Aldo, but his inability to hurt Aldo with punches or get him to the floor proved to be too difficult to overcome.
All three judges had it for Aldo: 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. ESPN.com scored it 49-46 for Aldo.
After the results were read, Aldo, who fights out of the Nova Uniao Academy in Rio de Janeiro, pointed toward McGregor, who was sitting in the front row.
"I have one goal, to beat this guy," Aldo said. "Next time, I will beat him."
It's the second time Aldo has defeated Edgar via unanimous decision. The two met at UFC 156 in February 2013 in Las Vegas. History repeated itself, as final scores of that fight were identical to what the judges rendered Saturday.
None of the five rounds was a blowout, however, as Edgar utilized his boxing and attacked Aldo's legs with kicks at the end of combinations. Aldo, 29, was in phenomenal shape, however. He bloodied Edgar's right eye in the second round. In the third, Edgar's face started to show swelling.
Edgar tried to implement his wrestling, but Aldo's takedown defense was too good. Edgar drove into Aldo's hips a handful of times, but Aldo was always quick to throw him off. In the fourth round, Edgar showed a willingness to hang in the pocket a little more to force something to happen. Aldo frequently got the better of it.
According to instant stats by FightMetric, Edgar came up empty on 11 takedown attempts.
McGregor (19-3) smiled at Aldo and waved at him after the fight concluded. The Irish star is scheduled to face Nate Diaz (19-10) in a welterweight fight at UFC 202 on Aug. 20. McGregor would have to defend his title against Aldo next, or likely vacate the belt.
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