UFC officials are targeting a December rematch between José Aldo and Ricardo Lamas as per a report from Brazilian publication Combate.
The bout would be a rematch of the UFC 169 co-main event between the pair for the featherweight title that Aldo held at the time. Aldo won by unanimous decision (49-46 x3).
Despite recently stating his desire to fight on November’s Madison Square Garden card Aldo will likely have to wait until December to get back into the cage following his loss to Max Holloway at UFC 212 in June. The bout will likely take place UFC 218 in Detroit on December 2nd or UFC 219 on December 30th in Las Vegas, after Lamas noted to UFC officials that an early November match-up would leave him insufficient time to prepare.
According to the Combate.com report, Aldo said that negotiations for his next fight are underway but he remained non-committal when it came to the identity of his opponent.
“It’s not 100 percent because we haven’t signed the contract yet,” Aldo was quoted as saying. “(But) it’s certain and I’m waiting for the day to fight.”
Cub Swanson had seemed the popular choice to face Aldo following all-action wins against Artem Lobov and Doo Ho Choi but the baby that he and his wife recently welcomed to the family may have temporarily removed him from the conversation.
Aldo’s coach Andre Pederneiras, meanwhile, says that his fighter is waiting for the UFC to make his next bout official.
“I’m trying to follow up, and they’re not saying anything back. But Aldo wants to fight. And the last thing he heard from my mouth was that it could be Ricardo Lamas and it could be either Nov. 4 or December. So we’re waiting.”
