Aldo Opens Up on Potential Teammate Clash With Nunes

Jose Aldo is sidelined at the moment, but the UFC’s 145-pound ace will have no shortage of challengers lined up to meet him upon his return to the Octagon this fall.

Unbeaten wrestler Chad Mendes, previously announced as the company’s No. 1 featherweight contender, has opted not to wait out Aldo’s return and will instead face Rani Yahya in August. Then there’s Kenny Florian, the former lightweight title challenger who could jump to the front of the line with a win in his June 11 featherweight debut against Diego Nunes. A training partner of Aldo’s at Nova Uniao in Rio de Janeiro, Nunes could also find himself in title contention with a win.

Speaking exclusively with Sherdog.com after Shooto Brazil 23 on June 4, Aldo didn’t deny the possibility of fighting his teammate for the belt, but did say that the UFC would have to make it worth his while.

“I believe Diego will defeat Kenny Florian,” Aldo said. “Diego is well-prepared. He has ‘blood in his eyes’ for that fight and he’s ready to reach the top of the division. He has enough talent to fight for the title.

“If that [title fight] happens with us, we’ll sit and talk to see how we deal with that. I don’t know if I would fight him. It depends more on our agents and on [Nova Uniao leader] Andre Pederneiras.”

Pederneiras told Sherdog.com in May that “everyone from Nova Uniao knows that if they have to fight against each other, they will.”

Regarding Mendes, who Aldo was tentatively scheduled to meet Aug. 6 at UFC 133 in Philadelphia, the champ offered respect for the Team Alpha Male fighter’s choice not to sit out -- but that doesn’t mean Aldo will be rooting for him.

“I don’t know exactly what Chad’s thing was. He was set to be my next challenger, and I understand his decision not to wait for me. We didn’t sign anything, so he was free,” explained Aldo. “I believe it will be a huge fight, but as a Brazilian, I will cheer for Rani.”

Out of action since his first UFC title defense -- a bloody, five-round battle against Mark Hominick on April 30 -- Aldo is counting the days until he can return to training. The 24-year-old champion is currently nursing a shoulder injury, but believes he will be ready to hit the mats by mid-June.

“My recovery is going great,” Aldo affirmed. “I haven’t done anything but physical therapy for the last four weeks and I’m really looking forward to training again. I miss it a lot. Next week, my doctors and physiotherapists will talk to me and probably release me. Obviously I won’t return at 100 percent. I’ll maybe need around two more weeks to be completely recovered and training hard.”

Colin Foster contributed to this report.