Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 – July 9, 2016
The manner of Aldo’s defeat to McGregor could have finished the careers of lesser men, but the Brazilian remarkably bounced back from his devastating defeat and recaptured UFC gold in his next fight, just seven months later.
Aldo returned to action in Las Vegas at UFC 200 and defeated former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar with a masterclass of MMA striking, outpointing “The Answer” and winning the interim UFC featherweight title.
That belt was later upgraded to the undisputed version after McGregor was stripped of the belt for failing to defend it. It meant Aldo was back on top of the 145-pound division once again.
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Since that win, Aldo has struggled for form, having lost twice to Max Holloway, and later to Alexander Volkanovski. It prompted him to make the move down to bantamweight, where he lost a split decision to Marlon Moraes at UFC 245.
However, UFC president Dana White felt the judges had scored it wrong and has since treated Aldo as if he had won that matchup. It’s led to the Brazilian being given a shot at the vacant bantamweight title against Yan on Saturday at UFC 251, where he will attempt to become one of a select few athletes to earn a UFC title in two weight classes.