Jose Aldo is done riding motorcycles.
The UFC featherweight champ was supposed to be gearing up for a fight in three days in front of his home fans. Instead, thanks to a spill on his ride, he's in Rio de Janeiro as a spectator.
And because of that, Aldo said he's done with that form of transportation – one of the more economical and popular ways to get around in Brazil.
"No more motorbikes for me," Aldo on Wednesday told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I'm young, so obviously I do mess up once in a while. But I learned my lesson, and I'm not going to ride (motorcycles) anymore."
Aldo (21-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was supposed to fight former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar (14-3-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC) in the main event of UFC 153, which takes place Saturday at HSBC Arena in Rio. But a little more than a week after a motorcycle accident, Aldo was forced to pull out of the fight due to injuries from the wreck – which reportedly occurred when a passing car ran into him on his bike.
With Aldo out, Edgar was put on hold for the title fight and a new main event between Anderson Silva and Stephan Bonnar was booked for Saturday.
Aldo said he's upset to not be fighting on the card, but he's ready to get back to the task at hand once he gets clearance.
"The sooner the better. As soon as the doctor says I can start working out again, I intend to do so. I'm ready, I'm recovered, but the doctor needs to say I can," he said. "The fight with Frankie was going to be a great fight – I was really looking forward to it. I got really excited when I signed the contract and I just want to go out and do it."
Though Aldo was supposed to fight Erik Koch (13-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) originally, Koch had to pull out with an injury and that paved the way for Edgar, who decided to drop to featherweight after his lightweight title rematch loss to champion Benson Henderson at UFC 150 in August.
But Aldo said it's Edgar he wants to fight next, regardless of when that is.
"Definitely (I want to fight Edgar)," he said. "I think he's one of the best fighters in the class and will be a big challenge for me. All my career has been challenges, so I want this challenge."
As for his mindset as he watches his Brazilian countrymen like Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Erick Silva get ready to fight on a pay-per-view he was set to headline less than a month ago, Aldo tried to keep focused on the positives in the future.
"I'm feeling very well," he said. "I'm disappointed – I wanted to be out there fighting. I think that's what the fans also wanted. But the worst is behind me and I just need to get back to working back really hard now."
Source: UFC champ Jose Aldo says he's done riding motorcycles, anxious for Edgar title fight