Jose Aldo has retired from mixed martial arts and will be remembered as a legend of the sport.
The ‘King of Rio’ confirmed to the UFC that he planned to hang up his gloves, even though he had one fight left on his contract.
Aldo’s most recent fight came in August in a unanimous decision defeat to Merab Dvalishvili. It was the Brazilian’s 20th under the promotion’s banner, and had another eight in WEC before being absorbed into the UFC.
He is one of the most decorated fighters in UFC history and was a two-time featherweight champion.
He made an incredible seven title defences, the most in UFC featherweight history.
The 36-year-old also had 18 wins and 11 finishes in the featherweight division, both records.
Aldo defended his belt against big names like Urijah Faber, Chad Mendes, and Frankie Edgar to set up the biggest fight of his career against Conor McGregor.
That fight famously lasted just 13 seconds as he was knocked out by a left hook by the Irishman.
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As esteemed MMA journalist Ariel Helwani put it, Aldo did not let that defeat define his career.
He wrote on Twitter: “Jose Aldo’s greatest legacy, [in my opinion], aren’t the title defences, the wins or the KOs. It’s that he didn’t let the 2015 loss to McGregor define him.
“Many would have let that moment break them. Not Aldo. He worked his way back and even found success in two weight classes. Absolute legend.”
Aldo went on to have a 6-6 record after that McGregor fight in 2015, even fighting for the bantamweight title as recently as 2020.
The good and the great of the MMA world have been paying tribute to the Brazilian.