“After that fight, you will know what is gonna happen. The UFC knows, I know, and everything is already set,” Aldo told Sherdog.com in March. “As soon as I beat McGregor, you will know what’s gonna be my next step.”
Of course, Aldo’s injury put any type of announcement on hold, and he didn’t offer much when asked if he still planned to reveal any big news after facing McGregor at UFC 194.
“I think I went through a lot, and right now I’m really focused on the fight and my task at hand,” he said during a recent conference call. “So after the fight we can think about it and we’ll see.”
However, Aldo’s lack of insight didn’t prevent speculation, including from those within his camp. Most notably, teammate Andy Souwer told MMAPlusTV that he believed the champion would call it a career following Saturday’s event.
Aldo, who will be competing for the first time since defeating Chad Mendes at UFC 179 in October 2014, shot down that speculation during a pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
“No, I didn’t say any of that. I don’t know why people are commenting on that,” Aldo said. “I’m still 29. They want to retire me, but I’ve got a lot ahead of me.”
Aldo has lost just once in 26 professional outings since beginning his career in 2004. He is unbeaten in 15 UFC and WEC appearances, with victories against the likes of Chad Mendes, Ricardo Lamas, Frankie Edgar, Kenny Florian and Urijah Faber during his tenure. Apparently, there will be more to come from the Nova Uniao standout.
“It just goes to show, don’t believe any of the bulls--t that you guys [the media] write out there,” UFC President Dana White said. “It’s not true.”