Coach: Jose Aldo wants to end his UFC contract ‘as soon as possible’

It is safe to say that Jose Aldo is no longer the unstoppable force that he was during his run as the undisputed featherweight champion of the world. He is currently dealing with two consecutive third-round stoppage losses, courtesy of the current 145-pound king, Max Holloway.

Over the last few years, Aldo has also been unhappy with the treatment he’s been gettingfrom the UFC, and how everything seems to be centered around Conor McGregor. Now, Aldo is seriously considering cutting ties with the UFC, according to his coach Andre Pederneiras.

“I’ve never heard him talk about stopping,” Pederneiras told Brazil’s SporTV (translation via MMA NYTT). “I think Aldo has been at it for a long time, in a very continuous time. I think Aldo could take a vacation and feel that motivation to return. I already talked to him, but he wants to end the UFC contract as soon as possible.”

According to Pederneiras, the UFC’s approval to have McGregor compete in a professional boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr., while Aldo has been constantly denied of the same favor is just one of the many reasons.

“Aldo has wanted to do boxing for a long time,” Pederneiras said. “This happened for Conor, but this wasn’t of interest between us and the UFC. We had other issues that we went to Vegas to talk to Dana about.”

“He asked to fight boxing, Dana denied and, later, Conor was fighting boxing. He did not have the thought he thought he might have,” he continued. “Months before he asked, the answer was no. Months later Conor manages to fight in boxing without a problem and the UFC allowed it. Of course, he has a lot of money involved and in his [Aldo’s] fight he would not, but not everything in life is money. He became quite unmotivated.”

At 31 years of age, along with all of his accomplishments throughout his 14-year professional career, Aldo has nothing left to prove. And whichever direction he chooses to take, Pederneiras is not at all worried.

“We’re still talking to see how much he wants to keep fighting or not,” Pederneiras said. “I think Aldo’s career is a career that nobody can talk badly about. He can do whatever he wants. To retire, to continue, to make a super-fight. He is thinking.”

“He is a guy who has managed to make a lot of money over the course of his career and he can retire today without depending on anyone. He will never go hungry in his life. He invested his money, he knew how to save it.”

Last September, Pederneiras already spoke about Aldo fighting out his UFC contract, then transitioning into professional boxing.