UFC star Jose Aldo considering move to boxing

Jose Aldo, a former UFC featherweight (145 pounds) champion, is considering a move to boxing full-time, according to a report at MMAFighting.com.

"He’s training boxing because he has this dream of competing in professional boxing,” [coach Andre] Pederneiras said. "If it was up to him, he’d fight all of his UFC fights (left on the contract) in three months and go box. He wants to box professionally.”

... "He doesn’t want to stay inactive for a long time, and there’s both sides: he definitely wants to finish the contract."

Aldo, 30, has four fights left on his UFC deal. He has recently been in California, training at Robert Garcia’s boxing gym.

With due respect to Aldo, a terrific fighter and champion, the biggest thing at play here is the potential ripple effect of Conor McGregor’s attempt at pro boxing, where he made big money for a one-off fight with Floyd Mayweather. Nobody else is going to command that level of fight out of the gate, obviously, but if Aldo is even entertaining the idea, how many other MMA stars might get it into their head to at least give boxing a shot at some point in the near future?