Tag: Jose Aldo

Ahead of UFC 307, Jose Aldo’s championship flame burns brighter than ever

At 38, can Jose Aldo become UFC featherweight champion once again?

SALT LAKE CITY – [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] walked away from mixed martial arts as a legend of the game in September 2022 when he decided to retire.

Fast forward and Aldo is set to compete in the same building that housed what seemed like his final fight two years prior. Saturday at UFC 307, Aldo (32-8 MMA, 14-7 UFC) battles Mario Bautista on the pay-per-view main card at Delta Center.

Despite his previous retirement, Aldo said the championship flame burns bigger and brighter than ever inside him.

“I train so much, you don’t understand,” Aldo told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “Every single up-and-comer, all the new kids there, they look at me like, ‘This dude has accomplished everything. He’s done everything and he’s still giving his all, training like crazy.’ It is. It is another fighter that’s ignited. There’s a flame that’s burning brighter than before. That’s what it takes to be a champion.”

Aldo, 38, is considered by many to be the consensus greatest featherweight in MMA history. So what is there left to prove? What’s the motivation?

For Aldo, being a champion is not the final level of greatness.

“Being the champion is being a champion,” Aldo said. “It’s a legacy. It’s being able to look back. That’s why I train so hard. That’s why I keep at it. That’s the fire I want to show people. It’s the UFC testing me. They’re trying to see you prove yourself again and see if you really want it. How much do you want it? I want to be able to turn back and look back and say, ‘This is the legacy that I left.”

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In his return fight in May, Aldo looked sharp when he defeated Jonathan Martinez by unanimous decision. Saturday’s fight vs. Bautista (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) marks the second in a row where Aldo, the much bigger name, tested himself against a rising young contender.

But that’s what this is to Aldo: it’s a big test. In his mind, the UFC wants to see where he’s at with each challenge, and it’s his job to show them he’s still the championship-caliber fighter he was years ago.

“They’re asking me for proof,” Aldo said. “They’re asking me to prove myself. I know for them they’re just putting them to see what’s going on. But I think for me, just like for example, like the last fight, just to prove how much I really want to come back. How much did I want that fight, right? So right now, I know for them, it’s a level. But for me, it’s another step toward an ultimate goal.”

Aldo’s first course of action will be to win. After that, “The King of Rio” hopes the promotion will view him as title-shot worthy.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s Mario coming up, if it’s a champion, if it’s somebody on top of the rankings, it doesn’t matter,” Aldo said. “It’s another step toward the one thing I want. It’s a title shot.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Jose Aldo’s 11 greatest UFC/WEC fights, ranked

Former UFC champ Jose Aldo is one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters of all time, and these 11 performances are a big reason why.

(Editor’s note: This post first published in September 2022.)

In the world of mixed martial arts, terms like “pound for pound” and “legend” are constantly misused when describing a fighter’s skills or achievements. But in the case of [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag], there couldn’t be more perfect descriptors for a true pound-for-pound legend.

Aldo, who recently requested out of his UFC contract citing his retirement, held claim to one of the most impressive unbeaten streaks that this sport has ever seen when he won eighteen consecutive fights from 2005 to 2015, defending his featherweight title nine times in a row across WEC and UFC. In addition to the Brazilian’s impressive title reign, Aldo also helped elevate the game of MMA as a whole through ferocious technical superiority and a dedication to defense that few can hold a candle to.

Below, I do my best to highlight some of the technical evolutions that Aldo brought to the table as I revisit and rank his greatest wins in the WEC and UFC.

SBC REPLAY: Renato Moicano’s surge, UFC antitrust settlement, UFC 307 preview, more

On the latest episode of “Spinning back Clique,” we discuss Renato Moicano’s Paris win, UFC antitrust settlement, preview UFC 307, and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Nolan King, Dan Tom, Brian “Goze” Garcia, and special guest John Nash will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:

  • UFC Fight Night 243 is in the books. The promotion’s trip to Paris, France saw lightweight contender [autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag] pick up a big win in the main event over [autotag]Benoit Saint Denis[/autotag]. Where does this win put Moicano in the division? How will his shoulder injury affect what’s next? What about Saint Denis? Where does he go from here after a devastating loss?
  • The UFC has reached a new settlement in its antitrust case. We welcome in guest John Nash, who has been following the case closely to discuss the latest developments. Is the $375 million settlement a surprise? Will the judge approve it? Is this better or worse for the fighters? Where does the case go from here? We discuss it all.
  • UFC 307 is here. UFC light heavyweight champ [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] faces [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] in the main event. In the co-feature, [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] puts her women’s bantamweight title on the line against [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag]. What are the chances we see one or two titles change hands? [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] is also in action against [autotag]Ketlen Vieira[/autotag]. Will a win get her the next title shot? What is the UFC doing with [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag]? Does he have one more title run in him?

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Jose Aldo vs. Mario Bautista: Odds and what to know ahead of UFC 307 clash

UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo is the betting underdog to Mario Bautista at UFC 307, despite the latter holding no top 10 wins.

The loaded UFC 307 lineup will see the return of UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag], who makes his second appearance since returning from retirement earlier this year when he takes on another up-and-coming name in the bantamweight division in [autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag].

Jose Aldo vs. Mario Bautista preview

After teasing a move to boxing after fighting out of his contract in May with a win over Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Aldo (32-8 MMA, 14-7 UFC) opted to ink a new deal to stay inside the octagon, and the former longtime UFC champ appears poised to try to make another title run at 135 pounds.

To do that he will have to get through the surging Bautista (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who is riding a six-fight winning streak that positioned him to get a step up in opponent name value to Aldo.

Jose Aldo vs. Mario Bautista odds

DraftKings released the opening odds for the bout, in which Aldo is a +145 betting underdog against Bautista, who is a -175 favorite.

How to watch Jose Aldo vs. Mario Bautista at UFC 307

  • When: October 5
  • Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City
  • Broadcast/streaming: ESPN+ pay-per-view

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

UFC 307’s Mario Bautista: Jose Aldo ‘hard to finish, but I think he can crack mentally’

Mario Bautista will look to do something many rising contenders have failed to do against Jose Aldo.

[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] will look to do something many rising contenders have failed to do against [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag].

Bautista (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) takes on former champion and UFC Hall of Famer Aldo (32-8 MMA, 14-7 UFC) at UFC 307, which takes place Oct. 5 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).

Aldo has won four of his past five, with his lone loss in that stretch coming to current title challenger Merab Dvalishvili. “The King of Rio” has only been stopped once at bantamweight, but Bautista thinks he could trouble him with pressure.

“I just see it being a high-paced fight,” Bautista told Middle Easy. “He’s hard to finish, but I think he can crack mentally. All those losses he’s had recently, those guys put a high pace on him, and that’s something I’ve got to emulate.”

Bautista initially called out Rob Font after he defeated Ricky Simon in January. He’s grateful to be rewarded with an even bigger fight against Aldo.

“Definitely a win over Aldo is better than Rob Font,” Bautista said. “It’s a tougher fight, too – everything that Aldo’s done through this sport, and he’s still trying to do it, you know? A win over him definitely shoots me up there and puts a little bit more shine on me.”

Bautista has quietly won six fights in a row. He respects Aldo for his willingness to fight another rising contender after he rebounded with a win over Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301.

“I have the second most straight wins behind Merab,” Bautista said. “So it’s nice that they’re seeing that, and they actually gave me that opportunity because it’s Aldo. He could have went a whole different route in saying, ‘No, no, I’m not going to fight these young guys. I’m going to fight someone like Dominick Cruz. I’m going to fight a Henry Cejudo.’ You know, those opportunities. So for me to get this fight, I’m super excited about it.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Jose Aldo return targeted for UFC 307 vs. Mario Bautista

“The King of Rio” Jose Aldo will return at UFC 307.

“The King of Rio” will return at UFC 307.

Former UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] will battle [autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] in a three-round bantamweight bout Oct. 5 at Delta Center.

Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media, although the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Ag. Fight first reported the matchup Thursday.

Aldo (32-8 MMA, 14-7 UFC) returned from a near-two-year MMA retirement in May when he defeated Jonathan Martinez by unanimous decision. The bout was his first since a July 2022 loss to Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision. During his MMA hiatus, Aldo competed in three professional boxing matches and went 2-1. He was also inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023.

Bautista (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) enters his biggest fight to date on a six-fight winning streak. In January, he defeated Ricky Simon by unanimous decision. Bautista is a longtime member of the MMA Lab, training under coach John Crouch and alongside the likes of Sean O’Malley, Kyler Phillips, and more.

With the addition, the UFC 307 lineup includes:

  • Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
  • Jose Aldo vs. Mario Bautista
  • Chris Curtis vs. Kevin Holland
  • Iasmin Lucindo vs. Marina Rodriguez
  • Cesar Almeida vs. Ihor Potieria

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Dominick Cruz addresses Jose Aldo fight not coming together for UFC 301

Dominick Cruz can’t make sense of Jose Aldo preferring to fight Jonathan Martinez over him at UFC 301.

[autotag]Dominick Cruz[/autotag] can’t make sense of [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] preferring to fight Jonathan Martinez over him at UFC 301.

Aldo said the UFC’s original plan was to have him return against Cruz, but Cruz couldn’t fight due to issues with his camp. He later said during media day that he asked for a top five opponent, and that unlike Cruz, Martinez is on a winning streak.

Aldo (32-8 MMA, 14-7 UFC) turned back the clock with an impressive showing against Martinez when he won by unanimous decision however, Cruz (24-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is confused by “The King of Rio’s” motives.

“Since you brought up Aldo, I’ll start with I saw his words were that they offered him to fight me but he wanted somebody in the top five, or, ‘He’s not in the top five,'” Cruz said on the “Anik & Florian Podcast.” “Is Jonathan Martinez in the top five? OK, so there’s that. And then, why would you want to be in the top five unless you’re going to fight for the title? Is he planning on renegotiating his contract for another six fights and going for the title?

“Or do you want to make sure you secure a win to become a free agent off a win instead of a loss when you’ve got to face the likes of me, which is a nightmare? I’m not saying Jonathan Martinez isn’t a nightmare, but the way that I saw it is, he showed up on the first weigh-in and then he showed up the second weigh-in apologizing for showing up to the first weigh-in and that right there showed me that the man was learning who he was against Jose Aldo before he even got in there.”

Aldo’s UFC future remains unclear, but the former featherweight champion said he plans on sitting down with UFC brass to discuss what’s next. Cruz doubts Aldo re-signs.

“He’s not going to renegotiate,” Cruz said. “Why would he sign for another six fights in the UFC? He’s not going to do that. He’s going to go be a free agent.”

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UFC 301 a night to remember for Alessandro Costa: TKO win, $50K bonus, praise from idol Jose Aldo

Alessandro Costa explains why UFC 301 was the ‘complete package’ for his fighting career.

UFC 301 was a special moment in [autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag]’s fighting career – one he will remember for the rest of his life.

The UFC flyweight had what he called the “complete package.” He fought for the very first time in his native country of Brazil, got a TKO finish over his opponent Kevin Borjas, earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, and received a personal congratulation from his idol [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag].

Life is good for Costa (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC).

But first, before the win, before the bonus money, Costa was just happy to be home. In his late teens, he moved to Puebla, Mexico, to pursue his dream of becoming a fighter and opening an MMA academy with his close friend Diego Lopes. Just fighting in Brazil, where his father and friends would get to watch him fight for the first time, was a treat for him.

“It was incredible, and it was even more than what I expected,” Costa told MMA Junkie in Spanish, reflecting on his first professional fight on home soil. “It was very cool. All the people were behind me. Even at the faceoff, when my opponent walked out, everyone was booing him, and when I came in, everyone kept chanting, ‘You’re going to die.’ So, that kind of support I didn’t expect.

“It made me really happy, and I think that helped me to fight at my best on Saturday.”

Costa opened up the event in a flyweight bout against Peru’s Borjas (9-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC). The Brazilian was coming off a close, competitive decision loss to Steve Erceg, who was fighting for the 125-pound title in the main event of the card.

Costa went out there and dominated Borjas from start to finish. He chopped him down with leg kicks in the second, and then mounted him to finish him with ground-and-pound. The victory got him a Performance of the Night bonus.

“If you look at my fight (where I won a bonus) against Flick, I basically took the same route,” Costa explained. “When I had his back, I thought about submitting him with a rear-naked choke or an armbar, but then I remembered I won the bonus against Flick because of the ground and pound, so I wanted to do the same. I just followed the same steps that took me to my first bonus. I promise you, this whole week I was thinking of the bonus. I wasn’t just fighting to win, I wanted to win the bonus.

“… It got tough for a moment with Michel Pereira and Caio Borralho’s win. When I saw those finishes, I said, ‘Man, there goes my bonus.’ But then, when I was at the hotel, I was already getting ready to sleep when my coach, Pancho, wrote to me saying I had won the bonus. My manager’s wife called me, ‘Hey, you need to come down and celebrate,’ so I jumped out of bed and went and celebrated with everyone.

Things didn’t stop escalating for Costa there. Just when he thought it couldn’t get any better, the following day he fired up a live stream on his Instagram account – and none other than his idol Jose Aldo, who won in his return from retirement in the co-main event of the card. Costa had been fanboying all week over Aldo, and told MMA Junkie it was an honor and dream come true to be fighting on the same card as him.

“Everything was just perfect,” Costa said. “You know how during fight week you’re doing interviews and stuff? UFC put me in a room to do an interview, and he (Aldo) was finishing one, so I had the chance to introduce myself and talk to him. UFC Brazil actually uploaded that video to TikTok. I told him that he was the first fighter I followed when I started training jiu-jitsu and that he was a big inspiration for me. It was a dream come true to meet him and also fight on the same card as him. It was incredible.

“He went in the Instagram live and congratulated me and said, ‘Go, Manaus!’ and he said I was very good and that he’s happy for me. This is one of the best moments of my career, given everything that’s happened. It was the complete package. I’m so thankful, and this motivates me to work even harder. I’m not satisfied, don’t get me wrong, but this just motivates me and makes me really happy.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6mhzP8poJZ/

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, May 7: Jose Aldo returns to top 10

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro.

Following UFC 301, the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings required updating.

In the main event of UFC 301 at Rio Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, flyweight champion [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] denied challenger [autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag] to maintain his position as No. 1.

The co-main event produced the biggest move of the week. Former UFC champion Jose Aldo returned to action to fight on home soil, facing Jonathan Martinez. It was a vintage performance from Aldo, who won every round on the scorecards. After his removal from the rankings due to a brief retirement from MMA, Aldo reenters the top 10, landing at No. 7. Martinez, who entered as an honorable mention, maintains his status there.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Chael Sonnen makes case for Jose Aldo title shot after UFC 301

Chael Sonnen wouldn’t be surprised if Jose Aldo got a title shot after his impressive UFC 301 performance.

[autotag]Chael Sonnen[/autotag] wouldn’t be surprised if [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] got a title shot after UFC 301.

Aldo (32-8 MMA, 14-7 UFC) looked in prime form when he shut out streaking contender Jonathan Martinez in this past Saturday’s UFC 301 co-main event in Rio de Janeiro. Aldo fought out his contract but said he plans on sitting down with UFC CEO Dana White to discuss his future.

Aldo said “it would be great” if he could skip the line to challenge bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) when asked during the UFC 301 post-fight news conference, and Sonnen can see it happening if O’Malley addresses it.

“I’m going to call for a Jose Aldo title shot,” Sonnen said his YouTube channel. “You’re going to give me a hard time, I understand that. … But, if Sean O’Malley goes on his podcast and gets this going right away – ‘I’m going to get rid of Merab, and I’m going to go right after Jose’ – there is a very possible chance that Jose Aldo goes right into a title shot. Now we’re also drunk on the excitement ride. It’s brand new, and it’s fresh.

“I understand those things, but I could give you examples. Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping. Dan Henderson’s last fight on his contract. Dana White went, ‘Give him another fight,’ and it was a world title fight. So, you will find times in history where an older guy came back and he did something very impressive. Randy Couture, Daniel Cormier. Daniel fought till 41, pushing 42. Fedor (Emelianenko). Let’s just do this, play this game. Stipe Miocic is going through it right now.”

O’Malley is currently focused on No. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili, who is expected to be his next opponent. However, if Aldo does get the title opportunity down the line, Sonnen says “The King of Rio” has still got it.

“You counted him out just because of his age. You didn’t count him out for anything else,” Sonnen said. “You didn’t count him out because you didn’t think he was great, or he didn’t work hard, he didn’t have the right training, he didn’t have the right experience. It was just father time came and got him.

“You will not give me one of those guys that exceeded expectations that was a striker. Jose Aldo only struck tonight. Did they ever go to the canvas? If they did, it was so quick that I don’t even remember it. He outstruck a younger Jonathan Martinez, and he did it for 15 minutes. Not to mention he was sharp. Not to mention he was crisp.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.