After UFC 206, where Max Holloway defeated Anthony Pettis via TKO in the third round, it appeared as though a featherweight title fight between the Hawaiian and Jose Aldo had been set to determine who would take Conor McGregor's unwillingly vacated belt.
At least that's what Aldo was told.
It soon emerged that no agreement had been made, and as a result much finger-pointing and sly comments in the media followed which lead us to believe that the bout was in doubt. Aldo claimed that excuses such as an injured ankle and a vacation to Disneyworld were provided by Holloway to avoid fighting the Brazilian, all of which was denied by Holloway, but as time went on with no official confirmation it appeared as though the fight may not take place.
That idea has now been quashed as Dana White confirmed to Brett Okamoto of ESPN that the fight is on:
Just taped 5ive Rounds with guest @danawhite. He told me Aldo vs. Holloway is a done deal ... but couldn't remember the date.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) February 10, 2017
While White claimed to not remember the date (come on, Dana), it has since been confirmed by several sources, such as Jim Edwards of FloCombat.com, that the fight will take place on June 3rd in Rio de Janeiro at UFC 212.
The winner will surely have their eyes on a fight with Conor McGregor, and although the Irishman has not ruled out a return to the 145 division, you get the feeling that Floyd Mayweather and the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson will take preference when it comes to planning his next move.
Regardless, UFC 212 now has a fantastic headline fight to look forward to.
