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The UFC featherweight title match between Jose Aldo and Anthony Pettis appears to have a home, as Tatame is reporting the bout will go down August 3 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The HSBC Arena would serve as the host venue, as it has for previous editions of the UFC in the country.

Aldo is coming off a victory over Frankie Edgar, while he previously toppled Chad Mendes in Rio back in 2011.

Pettis scored a victory vs. Donald Cerrone earlier this year, and made it known that he would move down to featherweight for a chance at the UFC belt. He was previously called the No. 1 contender at lightweight.

The Aldo test just got upgraded for Pettis, as “Scarface” will be the heavy favorite – and crowd favorite – when the two collide this summer.

UFC president Dana White confirmed on Twitter and during a fan chat Monday night that the planned August bout between UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and Anthony Pettis is a go.

“Aldo vs. Pettis is ON!!!!!” White wrote. “And it’s for Aldo’s UFC 145lb title.”

Over the weekend, White stated that Aldo was refusing to face Pettis, citing his lack of matches at featherweight. Pettis, a former WEC lightweight champion, was confirmed last month as the No. 1 contender at 155.

The UFC boss made it known that he was none-too-happy with Aldo, and talked with his manager Monday evening. It appears everything is back on track for the two to collide, though no date or location has been confirmed.

Pettis poses as a very difficult challenge for Aldo – just ask Joe Lauzon or Donald Cerrone. The kid has some incredible finishing power, and Aldo has been very hesitant to mix it up much as of late, preferring to take the Georges St-Pierre way and stay patient, stay smart and pick his opponent apart minute-by-minute, round-by-round.

Dana White let members of the media in on a little bit of insider information Saturday night, revealing that UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo is currently refusing to accept a match with Anthony Pettis.

Pettis, the No. 1 contender at lightweight, offered up his services in the featherweight division with the 155-pound title tied up through an April fight between Benson Henderson and Gilbert Melendez.

“He’s going to fight Pettis, or he’s not going to like how this thing is going to turn out,” White said (thanks to MMAjunkie.com for the quotes).

Aldo defeated Frankie Edgar earlier this month, while Pettis stopped Donald Cerrone in January. The proposed bout was mentioned for August when first announced by White.

Anthony Pettis has heard all the rumblings that he is scared to face UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson.

Pettis, who was declared the No. 1 contender for the belt, but would have to wait for his shot at the title, has decided to face Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight crown this summer.

During a recent interview with BJPenn.com, “Showtime” discussed his exact reason for agreeing to face Aldo. And, no, it has nothing to do with running from Henderson – a man he defeated back in 2010.

I’ve been reading some of the blogs and people are claiming I’m scared to fight Henderson, but it’s nothing like that. Aldo’s a great fighter and I’m in this game to fight the best, and fight the fights that people want to see. I think all the fans want to see this fight. You have one of the toughest guys in his division just wrestling it, and he’s considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters. That right there just amuses me and has me interested in this fight.

Henderson will defend his title against Gilbert Melendez in April, and Pettis returned from a long layoff in January to top Donald Cerrone. The former WEC champion stated after the win that he wanted to compete quickly again, but will not face Aldo until August.

After a small break, The MMA Beat returns with their latest episode. In this installment, the championship fight between Jose Aldo and Anthony Pettis is the focal point.

Chael Sonnen knows a thing or two about marketing himself as an elite fighter.

Yes, Sonnen has put Anderson Silva through the most difficult challenge – inside the Octagon – of his UFC career, but he will likely be remembered more for the way he provoked “The Spider” outside of all that.

The UFC has taken to listening to fighters such as Sonnen when it comes time to make high-profile and championship matches, because that is what feed the masses.

In the featherweight division, Ricardo Lamas has reeled off three straight impressive victories and appeared poised to become the No. 1 contender. One text later, and Lamas is on the outside looking in at a match between Jose Aldo and Anthony Pettis.

Sonnen, the new host of UFC Tonight, explained the reasoning behind this going down the way it did.

The best fighter in the world is also the one the fans want to see the most – at least 99.9-percent of the time. Go to Lamas’ Twitter page. He has 3,200 followers. Whether he’s beaten guys or not, if nobody knows he exists, nobody knows he exists. I think he’s an excellent fighter, but I also heard his name for the first time a week ago when he fought on Fox.

Pettis, a former WEC lightweight champion and the top contender in the UFC’s 155-pound division, doesn’t plan to remain at featherweight forever; he just wanted the opportunity to compete for a title instead of waiting around again.

As mentioned before, Anthony Pettis expressed his interest in a 145 pound championship fight with Jose Aldo. This time around, Pettis talks more in-depth with Ariel Helwani. This situation does unfortunately have the potential to put the UFC 155 and 145 pound belts on hold, as Pettis was announced as the no.1 contender at 155 pounds a few weeks ago. Time will tell, but if I had to guess, I’d say Pettis will fight Jose Aldo, and Gilbert Melendez will face Benson Henderson next.

Anthony Pettis isn’t planning a career move with his latest decision to accept a fight vs. Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title.

No, Pettis is just tired of waiting for his shot at becoming a champion.

The two will meet this August in a bout that seemed to materialize overnight. However, as he recently explained to UFC Tonight, Pettis has been pondering a drop to 145 pounds for a while now.

I can make the weight easily. The reason why I haven’t done it before was Erik Koch, who is a teammate of mine who was right up there for a title shot. I didn’t want to cross paths with him. After being at the fight, I thought it was the right idea to call out Aldo. He’s at the top of the division. He’s probably one of the best guys in the 145-150-pound range. For me, it’s just wanting to fight the best.

Pettis, who returned to action in January and stopped Donald Cerrone, believes he will have little trouble cutting the 10 extra pounds from lightweight to featherweight.

“It’s been a while. Getting down to 155 was hard for me before, but now I have a clean diet and it’s becoming a lot easier,” the former WEC lightweight champion said. “Before my last fight, I was in the hot tub for two minutes and I made weight.”

As for taking on Aldo instead of waiting for a potential second match with Benson Henderson, Pettis stated that he feels “Scarface” is above the current UFC lightweight champion – a man he defeated in the WEC.

To me, Aldo is a tougher fight – that’s why I asked for it. He’s one of those guys who has gone through his opponents like crazy. Aldo is definitely a tougher challenge for me. I’ve beaten Benson Henderson once and I think I’m going to be doing it again soon, but right now, Aldo is the guy on my radar.

Ricardo Lamas isn’t sure what he has to do to earn a UFC featherweight title shot.

Lamas, who has defeated Cub Swanson, Hatsu Hioki and Erik Koch in succession, was passed over by Anthony Pettis for the next shot at UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.

“I’m kind of sitting here like, ‘What am I a mirage?’” said Lamas, during a recent interview with MMAjunkie.com.

Lamas said he actually sent that message to UFC president Dana White after hearing of Pettis’ interest in facing Aldo.

“I’ve put in the work at 145 pounds,” Lamas said. “I’ve done everything I need to do, and I should be next in line for that shot.”

Instead, Pettis – who competes at lightweight – will face Aldo this August. That ties up the UFC champion for much of the year, and leaves Lamas likely facing another contender in the division.

Anthony Pettis declares his desire to compete in both The UFC’s featherweight (145 lbs) and lightweight (155 lbs) divisions. Following UFC 156, Dana White said he is certainly open to the idea of Pettis challenging current UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo. It is also worth noting Pettis was declared the No.1 contender at lightweight after he handily beat Donald Cerrone at UFC on FX 7, and he is also the last man to beat the 155 pound king Benson Henderson.