Jose Aldo laid down his gloves in the middle of the Octagon to signify his retirement following his unanimous decision loss to Aiemann Zahabi at UFC 315.
Jose Aldo Retires
The former two-time featherweight UFC champion fought well against Zahabi, with the fight ultimately coming down to the final round after a closely contested opening two rounds.
Aldo smelled blood after dropping the Canadian to the canvas with a knee to the face early in the third round. As Zahabi got back to his feet, Aldo greeted him with a head kick, which sent him straight back down to the canvas. The fight looked all but finished, with Zahabi stumbling across the entire Octagon before eating yet another vicious head kick from Aldo.
Yet somehow, miraculously, Zahabi weathered the storm and recovered incredibly quickly. At this point, Aldo’s gas tank was empty. The Brazilian even disengaged for a moment to look at the clock, which read that there were 3 minutes left of the round. In his exhaustion, Aldo shot a desperate takedown, which was easily stuffed and reversed by Zahabi. The Canadian landed relentless ground and pound, cutting open Aldo’s forehead with repeated elbows. This is where the fight was lost for Aldo.
Jose Aldo Makes the Decision to retire
In his post-fight interview in the Octagon, Jose Aldo admitted (via his translator), “I don’t have it in my heart anymore” and that his “body said no.”
The latter could explain why the Brazilian failed to make weight for this fight, unable to cut to the bantamweight limit of 135 lbs. At the last minute, the fight was changed to a featherweight bout to allow it to take place.
Despite this, Aldo should be praised for his contributions to Mixed Martial Arts. He has had a glittering career, boasting the most successful title defenses in UFC featherweight history (7), and even went on an 18-fight win streak from 2006 to 2014. He is widely regarded as the greatest featherweight of all time. Despite this, ‘Father Time’ catches up with everyone, and at age 38, Aldo can be proud of his accomplishments and hold his head up high; he was competitive right until the very end.
