Jose Aldo asked the UFC to fight Jeremy Stephens at UFC 224

Former UFC featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, wants to fight in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro again, and he has a name in mind for the challenge: Jeremy Stephens. In fact, as Aldo explained to MMA Fighting he has already told the UFC about his desire.

“I asked to fight him, he asked to fight me, so it will be a great fight. I’m waiting for them to set it up,” Aldo said.

Jose Aldo (26-4) has recently hit a rough patch, with back-to-back TKO losses to current champion Max Holloway, with his latest win being a unanimous decision victory over Frankie Edgar in July 2016. Before that, he was knocked out by Conor McGregor in December 2015. He has not put together a win streak since his first championship run, when defended his title seven times in the UFC.

Heavy-handed Jeremy Stephens (28-14) currently rides a three-fight winning streak, with wins over the likes of Gilbert Melendez, Doo Ho Choi and most recently, Josh Emmett. Before that, he was on a two-fight losing skid, being bested by Frankie Edgar and Renato Moicano. A fight at UFC 224 would already mark Stephens’ third fight in 2018.

UFC 224 will take place at the Jeunesse Arena on May 12. The card will be headlined by a women’s bantamweight title fight between champion Amanda Nunes and challenger Raquel Pennington.