UFC 218's main event was originally scheduled to see UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway defend against Frankie Edgar. However, due to an injury to Edgar, Holloway will re-match a familiar opponent in Jose Aldo.
Aldo is just days away from possibly recapturing the title that he was awarded upon his arrival in the UFC. Despite losing a fight to Holloway just over five months ago, Aldo told Fightful.com's James Lynch that he wasn't surprised that he got the call to fill in for the injured Edgar.
"I felt I learned a lot in being defeated. You learn more being defeated than winning. Now I'm on the other side as a challenger. I feel really bad about Frankie Edgar being injured, but I knew I was the one because of my name and my history in MMA," Aldo said via an interpreter.
Aldo was originally set to fight a couple of weeks later, but said that he stayed loyal to his training partners and also kept his training as-is for this bout.
"There's no difference because (I) was going to fight two weeks later. (I've) been fighting three rounds, four rounds and five rounds. I didn't change my crew, they're all here, I had to come back to who I was," Aldo said.
UFC 218 takes place Saturday, December 2 from the Little Ceasers Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Fightful.com will have full, live coverage of the show, including a post-show podcast covering UFC 218, the TUF 26 Finale and Bellator 189.
