Jose Aldo began his MMA career as a teenager. Now 37, Junior is coming back to the UFC Octagon two years after he announced his retirement.
Aldo went on to successfully defend the belt seven consecutive times and reigned as champion for a total of 1,848 days. Aldo’s stranglehold of the featherweight division ended at UFC 194 when he suffered a 7-second loss to Conor McGregor.
Although he was able to reclaim the belt two fights later, he was never the same and with Father Time catching up with one of the all-time greats, Aldo retired after a loss at UFC 278.
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On 4 May 2024, however, Aldo will return at least one more time inside the UFC Octagon. Now 37 years old, Junior is booked to fight No.13 ranked bantamweight Jonathan Martinez in the co-main event of UFC 301 which will be held at the Farmassi Arena in Aldo’s hometown of Rio de Janeiro.
Born on 9 September 1986, Jose Aldo da Silva Oliveira Junior trained in capoeira as a kid for self-defence. He transitioned to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and when he was 17, he moved from his birthplace to Rio to focus on training for an MMA career. It was at that same age when he made his mixed martial arts debut for Eco Fight 1 on 10 August 2004.
Aldo was 23 years and 2 months old when he became the WEC featherweight champion at WEC 44. One year later Aldo was promoted to UFC featherweight champion after the WEC-UFC merger. He ruled as champion until he was 29 years old. Prior to his loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 194, Aldo’s last defeat came when he was only 19 years old.
Junior was 35 years old when he announced his retirement after UFC 278. Just two years later, he will be returning to the Octagon to fight a Top 15 opponent in the city where it all began for him.