Aldo sees no controversy in UFC 251 title shot: 'I deserve to be here'

Jose Aldo doesn't see anything wrong with him getting a bantamweight title shot at UFC 251.

The former featherweight champion is scheduled to face Petr Yan for the vacant belt on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The fight has come under scrutiny because Aldo is coming off a narrow loss to Marlon Moraes in December and is 0-1 in the division.

"I'm not worried about that," Aldo said Wednesday, according to MMA Junkie. "I know that I won that fight. Even the judges afterward said that they agreed with me. I beat Marlon, who's the No. 1 contender. So it doesn't bother me at all. I deserve to be here."

Aldo was supposed to challenge for the 135-pound strap earlier this year against Henry Cejudo, but the bout fell apart due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cejudo ended up defending his title against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May, and he announced his retirement following a second-round TKO victory.

Shortly after, Yan-Aldo was booked to determine a new champion, with Aljamain Sterling expected to meet the winner.

UFC 251 will feature two other title fights, with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman versus Jorge Masvidal in the main event, and there will be a rematch between featherweight titleholder Alexander Volkanovski and former champ Max Holloway.