Jose Aldo shoots down Dominick Cruz matchup, wants number one contender bout against TJ Dillashaw

Jose Aldo isn’t interested in fighting Dominick Cruz next.

After Aldo beat Pedro Munhoz at UFC 265 many fans called for him to fight ‘The Dominator’. Both men were champions in WEC and the UFC and it easily could’ve been a ‘champ vs. champ’ super-fight, but it never happened. Now, as both fighters are competing at bantamweight the possibility remains, but for Aldo, he isn’t interested in the scrap.

“I heard some reporters talking about this fight [with Cruz] but I think we’re both going different directions,” Aldo said to MMAFighting. “He’s more dedicated to [UFC] broadcasts than his own fighting career. I don’t think about fighting Dominick today. I respect him, I also like him for the fact he’s one of the greatest bantamweight champions, but right now I’m heading towards the title. There’s no reason why I’ll stop and do a fight that will take me nowhere. It’s more likely for me to fight Rob Font than Dominick Cruz.”

Image: @ufc on Instagram

While Jose Aldo may not be interested in fighting Dominick Cruz, he loves the idea of scrapping TJ Dillashaw in a number one contender bout. The Brazilian is looking to work his way up the rankings and he believes a fight with Dillashaw makes the most sense.

“I want to climb step-by-step,” Aldo said. “I may have bitten off more than I could chew [early in my bantamweight run] but it happens, you aim big and hit big. But it’s different now, we’re going step-by-step, adapting to the division. After this great fight, I want to put on another great performance by December.

“Dillashaw is the focus,” Aldo continued. “If it’s early next year, I can wait too. I’ll leave that up to ‘Dede’ [coach Andre Pederneiras] to deal with. I want to fight by December or January, tops. With another great fight and win, we can get closer to the belt.”

Whether or not Dillashaw is interested in a fight with Aldo is to be seen. Regardless, Aldo’s next fight will be against a big name and top-ranked opponent at bantamweight.

Would you like to see Jose Aldo vs. TJ Dillashaw?