Who Should The Aldo-Mendes Winner Fight Next?

By Adam Martin

The main event of this weekend’s UFC 179 event, a five-round title fight rematch between UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo and #1 contender Chad Mendes, is all sorts of intriguing from all sorts of angles, but what happens after the fight is over might be even more interesting to consider.

That is, what happens if Aldo wins again, for what would be the seventh consecutive defence of his UFC belt? What happens if Mendes, who was knocked out by Aldo in the pair’s first fight back at UFC 142, earns the upset by ending Aldo’s 17-fight win streak? They are two different scenarios that would play out in two very different ways, and for this article I’ll give my thoughts on what would happen should each man get his hand raised on Saturday night in Brazil.

I’ll start with the challenger, Mendes.

Should Mendes defeat Aldo, whether it be by knockout, submission, or decision, I believe that the UFC’s best course of action would be to book a trilogy fight between the two. After all, Aldo did knock Mendes out in the pair’s first fight, and he hasn’t lost in forever. Should Mendes pull the upset off, even though there are some interesting contenders out there, I think it makes the most sense to give the champ the rematch. Aldo has truly earned a rematch based on his track record, even if he should he lose this Saturday, and I don’t know how anyone could really argue with me.

Sure, some people are saying that if Mendes wins, the UFC should do a grudge match with “Money” against rising star Conor McGregor, but really, how would McGregor be deserving of jumping ahead of Aldo? I don’t care if Aldo is knocked out or if he loses a dominant decision to Mendes, as far as I’m concerned he would still be the #1 contender, and after all of his success in WEC and the UFC, it would only be fair to give him a rematch with Mendes. It would not be fair, however – dollars and cents out the window for a second – for McGregor to leapfrog over Aldo. Yes, it’s a business, but it’s also a sport, and I just couldn’t take the UFC seriously if they didn’t give Aldo a rematch should he be upset by Mendes.

But now let’s talk about things if Aldo wins.

If Aldo defeats Mendes for a second time on Saturday night, there are numerous options for the champ. The first would be for Aldo to fight the guy I just mentioned, McGregor. I think a fight between Aldo and McGregor would be big bucks for the UFC and McGregor is the only true contender that Aldo hasn’t yet beaten. I would be totally okay if this was the direction the UFC wanted to go, because I think it’d be a big fight and I’d want to see it. Plus, it’d be a fresh matchup for Aldo.

Having said that, there are two other top contenders who are interesting matchups for Aldo, and they are fighting in the main event of next month’s UFC Fight Night 57 card. They are Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar.

With Swanson, he’s won six straight fights in the UFC and is the true top contender, but an eight-second knockout loss to Aldo in WEC is sadly held against him. I believe Swanson is a completely different fighter now than he was then, and if he beats Edgar I would want to see him fight Aldo. However, the reality is the first time these two fought there was no controversy, Swanson was just knocked out, and the UFC has seemed hesitant to give Swanson this rematch. So even though I personally would like to see Swanson fight Aldo again — because who knows what would happen if the fight goes longer — I do understand why they don’t seem to be eager for this fight.

If Edgar beats Swanson, he would be another option for Aldo to fight, and frankly, a very good opponent if you ask me. In their first fight at UFC 156, Aldo barely edged Edgar out over the course of five rounds. Edgar looked excellent in that fight – he fought Aldo tougher than basically anyone else except for Mark Hominick – and I wouldn’t mind at all if the fought Aldo in a rematch considering how good he’s looked as of late. Aldo might win again, but Edgar is a great fighter, and it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to give him another shot at the belt, especially if he beats Swanson in impressive fashion.

So those are some of the options for Aldo if he beats Mendes on Saturday night. There’s one more, and that’s that Aldo could vacate the title and move up to 155 pounds. I don’t mind that, but there’s already a logjam of top contenders in the lightweight division, and I think Aldo moving there creates more problems than it solves. So while this is a possibility, I kind of hope it doesn’t happen.

We will find out the result of the Aldo vs. Mendes fight in just a few days and then we will have a better understanding of where the division lies, but for now it’s fun to think about what will happen in the featherweight division, one of the best overall weight classes in the sport of MMA.