Jose Aldo to replace Frankie Edgar in UFC 218 main event; Michael Bisping added to UFC Fight Night
Jose Aldo has been granted another chance to regain the UFC featherweight belt.
The UFC announced Saturday night that Aldo (26-3), a former long-reigning champion from Brazil, will replace injured challenger Frankie Edgar and meet Hawaii’s Max Holloway (18-3) in the UFC 218 main event in Detroit on Dec. 2.
It was also announced that recently deposed middleweight champion Michael Bisping of England will step in for Anderson Silva following the Brazilian’s positive drug test to meet Kelvin Gastelum on Nov. 25 atop the UFC Fight Night card in Shanghai.
Holloway has won 11 consecutive fights, the latest being his third-round technical knockout of Aldo on June 3 in Brazil at UFC 212.
Aldo, 31, hadn’t lost in 10 years and was 7-0 in UFC action before being knocked out in 13 seconds by Conor McGregor. When McGregor moved up in weight to win the lightweight belt, the UFC this year elevated Aldo to featherweight champion.
But Holloway scored a knockdown of Aldo in their June meeting and landed 128 strikes to Aldo’s 56.
When Edgar withdrew from the main event this week because of his injury, Aldo quickly tweeted he was ready for a second crack at Holloway. Aldo beat out No. 4-rated featherweight Cub Swanson of Palm Springs. Swanson has a Dec. 9 fight against Los Angeles’ Brian Ortega in Fresno.
Bisping, meanwhile, accepted the chance to return to the octagon less than a month after losing his belt to Georges St-Pierre by third-round submission on Nov. 4 in the UFC 217 main event at Madison Square Garden.
Bisping, 38, has the opportunity to pass St-Pierre for most all-time UFC victories. Defeating Los Angeles’ No. 9-rated middleweight Gastelum (14-3) would be Bisping’s 21st UFC triumph.
The shuffle was required because former long-reigning champion Silva submitted a positive test for a banned substance, the UFC announced Friday. That might mean the end of Silva’s decorated fighting career since he previously submitted a positive test.
The juggling further meant the UFC has yet to finalize its Dec. 30 main event for UFC 219 in Las Vegas.
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