According to a Feb. 4 report from MMA Fighting, Anthony Pettis has called out UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo.
"I want to fight for a belt, man. That's the intriguing part for me," Pettis explained. "It's another belt, and I don't think the weight cut would impossible. I think it's something I could pretty easily do.
"I only cut like two pounds to make 155. I have a clean diet and I barely cut any weight when it's time to get down to '55. I mean, if my teammate Erik Koch can do it, I'm pretty sure I could."
To fight Aldo, Pettis would need to lose ten pounds more than his typical fighting weight.
"Right now it's so fresh and brand new, that I'm just trying to clear two paths to get to both of these belts," explained Pettis. "I mean, they say, ‘You can fight Jose Aldo in three months, and then you get the winner of Henderson-Gilbert,' then I'm signing the contract today.
"That's up to the UFC. I'm not going to make any decisions or close any doors until they decide what they want to see. I put my opinion out there, I'm up for either one, and I guess it's just what would make sense for you guys now."
Pettis, who defeated Donald Cerrone at UFC on FOX 6, is perhaps the No. 1 contender in the UFC's lightweight division, but a fight against Aldo in the featherweight ranks is intriguing to many MMA fans, including UFC President Dana White.
"It's something I've been thinking about for a while," Pettis said in closing. "[Aldo] is on the top pound-for-pound list, and that's where I want to be at. I want to be the best fighter in the world.
"I'm looking for the big fights. I think both of these fights are big, and it's kind of just up to the UFC to pick which one they want me to be part of.
"Once they come forward and tell me something, because honestly I don't know anything, I can look at my options and see what happens. At 155, I'm comfortable, man. I feel I'm the No. 1 contender. I'm right there, so it's not a fact of I'm trying to drop weight, to cut down, because it's an easy way to a belt. It's just, I want to fight. I just want to fight. This is all I do. A year off just motivates me, and I want to make this my year."
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