Manager: Jose Aldo willing to sit out a year and wait for UFC title fight

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Jose Aldo suffered his first defeat in 10 years against Conor McGregor at UFC 194, and he won’t accept a return to the Octagon in a non-title fight.

Aldo, who was once the best featherweight on the planet, defended his WEC and UFC 145-pound title nine times, and isn’t happy with the UFC’s decision to let McGregor move up to the lightweight division without vacating his featherweight belt.

Right after his 13-second loss in December, Aldo says was promised a title fight with Frankie Edgar if McGregor moved up to 155 pounds, but the promotion changed plans in the weeks following. For Aldo, it’s title fight or nothing.

"Dana (White) and Lorenzo (Fertitta) went to our locker room and said the next fight would be with Frankie Edgar for the title because Conor wouldn't make the weight anymore," Aldo told the media recently. "That was the idea when the fight was over. But if someone asks me what I want, it’s the rematch, of course. I don't see another fight for me besides a title fight or a rematch."

The UFC has yet to decide who’s next for the featherweight gold, and the Brazilian won’t rule sitting out an entire year if Edgar gets the next crack at "The Notorious".

"What I can say is that that’s our idea right now," Aldo’s manager Andre Pederneiras said in a media scrum in Rio de Janeiro. "It might change tomorrow, but that’s our idea right now."

"Aldo believes he has this right, and so do I," he added. "He will only fight for the belt. The champion he was, undefeated for 10 years, he thinks he has the same right others had. Some fighters are getting rematches they deserve less than Aldo. If it’s going to be soon or in 10 years, he thinks he deserves a title fight."

Pederneiras expects to meet with UFC officials "soon" to negotiate Aldo’s next step, and admits he’s unhappy with the promotion’s decisions.

"I wouldn’t let (McGregor) move up and take the belt with him, but it’s the UFC’s call, I can’t do anything about it," he said. "I have to accept it. I can’t say I’m happy with it, though. I’m not, and Aldo is not happy about it either. But we can’t do anything about it. When you fight for a company, you have two options: leave the company, or accept the condition and wait, try to negotiate what’s better for you, and that’s what we’re doing right now."