RIO DE JANEIRO – Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has talked about his plans of retiring from MMA in 2019.

But as Aldo (28-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) prepares to meet Alex Volkanovski (19-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) on Saturday at UFC 23, that plan is not quite set in stone.

Speaking to MMA Junkie in a one-on-one interview Wednesday, Aldo confirmed that he will, indeed, most likely be absent from the octagon next year. After that, though?

“It will all depend on this year,” Aldo said in his native Portuguese. “I think I’m giving it my all this year so I can get the new title shot and who knows. I don’t know about 2020, because I want to take one year to not do anything. Like a sabbatical, so I can just enjoy life a bit and maybe return. So I don’t know about 2020, but 2021 it could be.”

Oh, yeah, that’s another thing that Aldo has changed his mind about. Ahead of his last fight, a victorious effort against fellow countryman Renato Moicano, Aldo had talked about coming to terms with the idea of not having a UFC belt when he retired.

But now, on the heels of back-to-back knockout wins over Jeremy Stephens and Moicano, respectively, Aldo is confident that a win on Saturday would get him there again. And despite previous doubts from Aldo and head coach Andre Pederneiras as to whether the UFC would book him against champion Max Holloway for a third time after two losing efforts, Aldo believes a title shot could be quite close.

“I think, until December, I’ll be fighting for a belt,” Aldo said. “After this one, with a win, I don’t think there’s another fight that isn’t for the title.”

And if that means automatically renewing his UFC contract, Aldo doesn’t have that much of a problem with it.

Check out the full chat with Aldo below, including thoughts on the matchup with Volkanovski, his future in the octagon and on “sh*t” former champ Conor McGregor.

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You’ve been talking about the idea to fight twice more this year and then call it quits. Is that still the plan?

Aldo: That’s still the plan, but everything can change due to the fact that we’re very close to a title shot. I think, winning this fight, there’s no way I don’t fight (for the belt), whether it’s with Holloway or whomever is the champion. It might change because of that, but I’m very close to retiring.

We had talked about this before. You had kind of left that idea of being champion aside, also because it could mean an automatic contract renewal… But I saw you were talking about a title shot. So you do think a win here will get you there? You are interested in fighting for the title?

Aldo: Yes, I’m always interested in fighting for the belt. I wanted to leave as champion. I think that was always the best scenario I had in mind. So I do feel that way. I hope it happens. That’s what we’re training for. So by winning this fight, I think that’s the right way, a new title shot, and then I can leave the way I always dreamed.

Do you think they’d match you up with Holloway for a third time? Because I think that’s the question here. You think they’d make a trilogy?

Aldo: I think it’s not about them making the matchup. I think it’s about the fact that I earned this spot. I’m coming off two knockout wins, so I think if I win this one, there’s no way of putting anyone else there. So you can be sure, that’d be certain.

After fighting him twice, what would you do differently a third time?

Aldo: (I’d fight) completely different. I think in the first one we started off really well, and he was able to land a good strike and end the fight. Not the second one; in the second one I was stubborn. I think I shouldn’t have gone in there so angry, (looking) to return that knockout. It really got in the way. Not now. Now we’d do the correct strategy, and I have chances of beating him.

Before, though, you’d mentioned that you didn’t want to be champion because of the automatic renewal clause. So what you’re saying is that you wouldn’t mind sticking around for a little longer if you become champion?

Aldo: Yes, I see no problem with that. I always said that my dream was to retire in the UFC and do my entire career in the UFC. I don’t see myself fighting anywhere else. Like I said before, when I talked about retirement, many promotions came looking for Dede to try to close a deal but no, I want to finish my career in the UFC. I don’t see myself tainting – well, not tainting, but fighting somewhere else, feuding with the UFC. I think I owe everything to the UFC. They got me where I am today. So I’ll retire there. If I renew with them, it won’t be a problem, because I have no intention of fighting anywhere else. If I sign a new contract, you can be sure it’s what I’ve always dreamed, as well, of ending my career in the UFC. If I come back one day, like Georges St-Pierre did, it would be in the UFC. I think I belong here.

So we can maybe have Jose Aldo in the octagon in 2020?

Aldo: It will all depend on this year. I think I’m giving it my all this year so I can get the new title shot and who knows. I don’t know about 2020, because I want to take one year to not do anything. Like a sabbatical, so I can just enjoy life a bit and maybe return. So I don’t know about 2020, but 2021, it could be.

So what you’re saying is you could get a new contract and maybe not stay active, but not necessarily rule out a return?

Aldo: Yes, exactly.

So this is a very big fight in terms of determining your future.

Aldo: Very. Very, very much. I think every fight I do in there is very important, but this is – I guess you could call it a turning point. I’m really hungry, and I want to win it because of that, because I have this entire path planned out in my head.

When we first brought up Volkanovski’s name at a news conference, you seemed unfamiliar with him, but then you said you’d just gotten confused. I talked to him, and he actually said this fight came to him. So this is a fight that you wanted; it didn’t just happen. What did you see in him and what do you think he offers that’s interesting?

Aldo: Getting back to that … At the time, I was actually going to say that up there in the cage, but I had memorized “Alexander,” and I didn’t know his last name. And you talked about all these other people who were talking about me on Twitter, and he was mentioned as “Volkanovski,” so I was caught off guard. But I knew about him, we had been studying him since he beat Chad (Mendes). It was the next step that we wanted. He’s a very tough guy, he moves forward all the time, so it all worked out. He accepted it. Like it or not it’s an important one for him, so he couldn’t refuse.

We talked earlier and he mentioned that, if you believed he was just a wrestler with one good punch, you’d be negatively surprised. What do you expect from him as an opponent?

Aldo: He’s got a good hand. He always does the same things, when it comes to combinations, and he also looks to fight on the ground. But I am never going to overlook an opponent. I trained very hard. We know of his strong suits, but that’s how I’ll try to get him. I don’t want to play on his weaknesses. I want to play on his strengths so I can neutralize them.

He’s coming into a really big fight, against a former champion, on your turf. There’s a lot in this for him, and you can see where his motivation comes from. You’re someone who’s been at the top for so long, you’ve fought so many people. You’re fighting someone who’s relatively unknown. How do you stay motivated at this point? Is it opponent-driven? Are you as motivated to fight him as you are to fight, say, someone like Holloway?

Aldo: It’s the same motivation. Every fight, for me, is the most important of all. Not necessarily because of the person I’m fighting, but because of my name, because of who I am and of my career. I always give it my all in training, regardless of who I’m fighting, whether it’s a quote-unquote easy fight or a difficult one. It doesn’t matter. My motivation is always high. Every time I’m in there, and the Jose Aldo name is in there, I have to fight the best way possible. To be in my best shape, and my technique. I don’t look at my opponent as much, but I look at myself and the responsibility I carry.

You have a very iconic walkout, and especially in Brazil. You seem to really enjoy and take that in. What do you feel and what are you thinking when you’re walking out to a packed arena in Rio?

Aldo: Walking out is the most euphoric moment for me. It’s when I feel the warmth of the fans, it’s when I feel that strong energy that makes me want to give it my all in there. When I’m in the cage, though, I try to be more rational, and think about what I trained and what I need to do. But that moment, it’s as if I’m in a cage and someone unleashed me to go get my food. I feel like a hungry lion walking out of the cage and trying to eat everything that’s in front of me.

Do you feel like, after the losses to Holloway, people were underestimating you a little?

Aldo: Oh, a lot. I think so. I think when you’re champion, everyone says you’re the best in the world. But when you lose, they don’t even look at the quality of your opponent, but the way that you lost. Not only did they underestimate, they said it was the end for me, that my career was over, that I’d only serve as a ladder to others. But not me. I knew I was going to lose one day. Losses are part of any athlete’s career, not just in MMA. So I had to learn from it and deal with it. I kept my career the same way. I trained the same way. I knew I was on the right path. I knew if I got to become champion with my team, I didn’t have to change it. So I talked to my team and made the adjustments to come back and be where we are now.

You acknowledge you made mistakes against a very high-level opponent.  But it’s one thing to have a quick loss like that knockout to McGregor, and another to suffer losses like the ones to Holloway. At the time, was it difficult for you, emotionally, to get over it and return?

Aldo: The first loss (to McGregor) was worse for me, because I wasn’t able to fight and show all my potential. Not with Holloway, though. He had his merits, he was experiencing a great moment, he was a great opponent. So I wasn’t as down. I think, for me, when it’s done, it’s done. I try to forget and move forward and make sure not to let it happen again. Losses will always happen. Is it bitter? Yes. Is it hard to accept? Yes. But it’s part of an athlete’s life. We have to learn to deal with it. I learned a lot and there’s no use crying over spoiled milk.

You’re saying you think a win here will get you a new stab at the tile, but the main thing is that you fought Holloway twice already. Holloway, for his part, just fought Poirier for the lightweight title. If he’d won, maybe it could mean a clearer path for you to the title. Did that go through your mind at all?

Aldo: Not just me, but my entire team thought about it. Professionally, for me, it’d be better if he won. He’d stay at lightweight, he’d fight Khabib. Even this fight now could be an interim title fight. So the loss kind of rained in our parade a bit. But you can’t control that. He did his thing, he lost the fight, and he’s certainly going back down to featherweight. I didn’t think he was strong enough to be dominant at lightweight just yet, I think maybe in the future, he could be a natural lightweight and fight toe-to-toe with them.

So you see a title fight with Holloway this year still?

Aldo: Yes. With him or whomever’s there. I don’t know. I think a guy who could also fight him for the title is Frankie Edgar, but I don’t know if they’re going to give him this fight. Maybe in July. But I think, until December, I’ll be fighting for a belt. After this one, with a win, I don’t think there’s another fight that isn’t for the title.

Nobody likes to think about losing, but in case you do… Do you have other plans, a lightweight fight, perhaps?

Aldo: Yes. We have a plan. So if I don’t succeed – which I doubt, you can be sure I’ll win – we might do a catchweight or a fight at another weight division. But I won’t give a specific name, otherwise everyone will be talking about it tomorrow and will forget Saturday’s fight.

Speaking of which… I know there’s a name that you vetoed this week, that you said you don’t want to talk about. Yet, he keeps coming up with you. Conor McGregor. So, you’re tired of that?

Aldo: It’s not that I’m tired, but I don’t think about – for me, it’s sh*t, and I don’t talk about sh*t. There are other names whom I’d like to fight if I had a chance.

What is s—t? The fight or…

Aldo: Him. (McGregor) himself. Not the fight.

When you visualize Saturday’s fight, how does it go down?

Aldo: For sure, he’s going to try to pressure me from the start. And that’s when my game, my technique and everything I trained for will come into play. Everyone thinks that I can’t fight three rounds at a high pace, so he’ll try to give it his all in the first so I can get tired. Because of that, he’ll open himself up and I’ll connect.

UFC 237 takes place at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The preliminary bout streams on ESPN+ ahead of additional prelims on ESPN and a main card on pay-per-view.

To hear from Aldo, watch the video above.

For more on UFC 237, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.