If nothing else, WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo (17-1 MMA, 7-0 WEC) has options.

After a dominating five-round victory over former champion Urijah Faber at this past Saturday's WEC 48 event, UFC president Dana White said he was so impressed with "Junior" that he's already considering where the Brazilian phenom would rank in both the bantamweight and lightweight divisions.

As for the humble Aldo, he'll just sit back and wait to hear what's next.

"Who decides that are my bosses," Aldo said through his manager and interpreter, Ed Soares. "I'll fight whoever they put in front of me."

The line probably isn't too terribly long.

According to FightMetric, Aldo landed an astounding 112 punches to Faber's 24. In an astonishing comparison, featherweights Leonard Garcia and Chan Sung Jung, who engaged in an instant classic slugfest that earned WEC 48's "Fight of the Night," only landed 124 punches – combined.

But the real story of the bout was told through the 27 devastating kicks that Aldo landed (of 29 thrown). The blows left Faber hobbled in the early going, and he struggled to remain upright as the action wore on.

"It's always a part of my strategy," Aldo said of the attacks. "I feel that I have strong kicks. ... Once they started landing, I just went with it."

Faber didn't make the evening's post-fight press conference. Instead, he was taken to the hospital for observation, and "The California Kid" posted pictures of the damage on his official Twitter account the following day.

Aldo actually expressed some remorse that Faber suffered such painful injuries.

"Every time I step in the octagon, my goal is always to win, to finish fights," Aldo said. "Unfortunately, sometimes the guys go to the hospital.

"One part of me is very happy that I won the fight. The other part of me is sad to see my opponent had to go to the hospital – not only my opponent, but any fighter. I'm one of these fighters. Any time one of these fighters goes to the hospital, it makes me very upset.

Some observers have criticized Aldo for his inability to finish the contest, though White certainly seemed pleased by the performance. Aldo credited Faber for his durability and said the rare lack of a finish – it was his first decision win in seven WEC outings – was due more to his opponent's toughness than his own inability to end the bout.

"Urijah was doing a very good job of covering things up," Aldo said. "The only thing that kept landing was that low kick. I kept going into that hoping that he was opening up, but every time I would go in to try and do something else, he was covering himself up very well. You have to take your hat off to Urijah. He came in with a good strategy to protect himself.

"I don't want to take anything away from Urijah Faber. He was a great champion, and he went in there and fought for five rounds. Some people would have quit. He hung in there and took all five rounds."

Soares, who has recently found himself busy defending another high-profile client, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, for his inability to finish, also saw stark differences in Aldo's win and "The Spider's" recent UFC 112 victory.

"Jose went in there and dominated, and it just feels great," Soares said. "It's a good feeling to see him go out there and put on his best performance. I know he was actively trying to finish. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. But on the other side, hopefully it answered some questions. People were asking, 'What if Jose gets into deeper water or into five rounds?' Well, he just went five rounds with a super-explosive guy, and he proved to the world that he can go five rounds.

"[Aldo] wanted to finish, obviously. I actually thought they were going to stop the fight in the fourth round when he was in side control as long as he did. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, but he dominated, and I'm proud of him and happy."

Despite owning just one successful title defense at 145 pounds, many MMA pundits have suggested that Aldo already has little else to prove in the division.

Manny Gamburyan, who defeated Mike Brown earlier on the WEC 48 card, appears the only immediate threat to Aldo's title, especially with prospects such as L.C. Davis, Josh Grispi and Chad Mendes in need of a bit more seasoning.

Aldo said he'll be just fine with whatever the WEC offers.

"I don't pick my opponents," Aldo said. "Whoever they put in front of me is fine. If it's Manny, then great. Whether the guy is good, bad, ugly, it doesn't make a difference. I'll fight whoever they put in front of me."

Options. Aldo has them, as does the WEC. In fact, White said only one thing is truly certain about the Brazilian: he's one of the best in the world – at any weight class.

"There's no doubt that he's one of the best in the world, period, out of all fighters, not just his weight division," White said. "He definitely should be on the pound-for-pound list.

"Urijah is one of the best in the weight division. Jose is just that much better."