The King Of Rio
Jose Aldo returns to action this weekend at UFC 307 as he takes on surging prospect Mario Bautista in Salt Lake City, UT. Aldo beat another up-and-comer in the 135-lb. division, Jonathan Martinez, by unanimous decision at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, and this fight at the Delta Center will be his second since coming back into the UFC fold earlier this year.
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After a defeat to Merab Dvalishvili just over two years ago, it was rumored that Aldo was retiring with one fight left on his UFC contract. Then came the announcement that the former 145-lb. champion was taking a break from MMA to try his hand in the murky world of professional boxing. He put in an impressive stint inside the squared circle, picking up two victories in his native Brazil and fighting to a draw with Jeremy Stephens on the undercard of the Anthony Pettis–Roy Jones Jr. card in April of last year.
His victory in his hometown over Martinez in April was the final bout on his UFC contract and it was rumored that Aldo was set to test out free agency, but the former WEC champion performed a surprising U-turn and signed a new deal with the UFC.
Built Different
Following his catastrophic 13-second knockout defeat against Conor McGregor in 2015, many fans assumed that Aldo’s time at the top was done. A new lion sat at the peak of the 145-lb. mountain and Aldo was expected to fall out of title contention, given the conclusive nature of his defeat.
He rebounded, however, and worked his way back to title shots against both Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski over the following four years. He never regained his belt, but in repeatedly dragging himself up by his bootstraps after losing high-profile title fights, Aldo proved himself to be one of the most resilient, durable fighters in UFC history.
The Switch To Bantamweight
His transition down to 135 lbs. following the loss to Volkanovski began with a stutter, as he suffered defeats at the hands of Marlon Moraes and Petr Yan. But just when all seemed lost and we once again began to think he was finally on the way out, Aldo rallied and went on another winning streak.
Impressive victories over Marlon Vera, Pedro Munhoz and Rob Font shot Aldo back up the 135-lb. rankings and there was even talk that he might be in line to challenge Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight belt. The loss to Dvalishvili stopped that momentum dead in its tracks but that defeat has aged well, especially considering the fact that Aldo stopped all 16 of the Georgian’s takedown attempts, something that none of his other opponents over the past few years have come close to doing.
What Are The UFC’s Plans For Jose Aldo?
It’s difficult to understand why the UFC re-signed Aldo. Presumably his services don’t come cheap, and paying a superstar during the twilight years of his career to fight down the rankings is certainly a curious move. Are the UFC lining Aldo’s pockets and keeping him busy just to prevent him from providing any value to a rival promotion?
The matchups with Martinez and Bautista would indicate that the UFC are attempting to build one of their up-and-coming bantamweights off the back of the former champion. Hoping the Brazilian will suddenly reach that point (which older fighters inevitably do) where he begins to look every one of his 38 years, and that Bautista can become the man who toppled the “King of Rio”. Indeed, this fight was initially set to be on the preliminary card at UFC 307, which seems crazy considering the exceptional career Aldo has had and how fantastic he looked in his last outing.
As the excitement builds for UFC 307, all eyes will be on Jose Aldo as he aims to reaffirm his legacy in the Octagon this Saturday, proving once again why he remains one of the sport’s most revered champions.
