MMA Odds and Ends for Wednesday: Aldo may retire after UFC 194, RFA 34 main event announced

Team-mate says Jose Aldo could retire after UFC 194 Ahead of the biggest fight in UFC featherweight history Saturday, champion Jose Aldo may be calling it quits regardless of the outcome. Aldo’s teammate, former K-1 Max champion Andy Souwer believes Aldo could hang up the gloves as he revealed in an interview with MMAPlusTV below.   Aldo (25-1) hasn’t lost a fight since 2005 and will be carrying an 18-fight win streak into his unification showdown with Conor McGregor at UFC 194 Saturday. The Brazilian is only 29-years old, but has been very vocal about fighter pay and called the new Reebok deal “S**t” in an interview with Combate back in May.   RFA 34 main event set for Jan. 15th in Colorado  With former welterweight champion Gilbert Smith signing with Bellator per MMAJunkie, the RFA vacant title will be on the line when Benjamin Smith faces Bojan Velickovic at RFA 34. Officials announced the main event matchup per their press release. Smith (15-3) is coming off a win over Craig Eckelberg at RFA 32 last month, which improved his record to 7-1 in his last eight fights. His only losses on his resume are to Canadian standout Brandt Dewsbery, UFC vet Mike Rhodes and former RFA champ Smith.  Velickovic (12-3) is on a three-fight win streak and is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Vardan Sholinian back at RFA 31 in October. RFA 34: Smith vs. Velickovic will take place Jan. 15 at the STBANK Center in Broomfield, CO and will air live on AXS TV.   Report: Brennan Ward vs Ken Hasegawa middleweight matchup set for RIZIN card

After MMA Kings initially reported that Bellator welterweight standout Brendan Ward would be on the RIZIN New Years Eve event, Bellator play by play man Sean Grande was the first to mention his opponent Ken Hasegawa. Ward (12-3) has remained undefeated (3-0) since dropping down to the welterweight division this year and will be moving up to middleweight for the first time since Sept. 2014. Hasegawa (10-0-1) made his middleweight debut in his last fight against Ryuta Sakurai, where he won by first round submission at DEEP 71 Impact this past February. RIZIN Fighting takes place from the Saitama Super Arena in Japan and will feature two events, one on Dec. 29th and one on Dec. 31st.

Written by James Lynch

Leave a Reply

Jacare Souza vs Yoel Romero Preview and Analysis – UFC 194

Mike James Premium – UFC Fight Night 80, TUF 22 Finale & UFC 194