Jose Aldo Intends to be a UFC Champion Again Before Calling it a Career

July 26, 2018

Despite having lost three of his four most recent bouts, Jose Aldo remains one of the most decorated fighters in UFC history.

He defended the UFC featherweight championship seven consecutive times after being ordained the promotion’s first 145-pound titleholder after he was brought over from the WEC. He rocketed to a 25-1 record before losing to Conor McGregor at UFC 194 late in 2015. He bounced back with a victory over former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar before dropping back-to-back bouts to current UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway.

At UFC on FOX 30 on Saturday in Calgary, Aldo takes his next step toward redemption. With four fights left on his contract, including Saturday’s bout with Jeremy Stephens, Aldo hopes to get back into title contention and once again become a champion before likely calling it a career after he fulfill’s his current contract.

“The thing that is left now is leaving the sport as a champion. That’s the big thing now. We know that the division is kind of on hold because of the whole situation with Holloway, but that’s the big goal, to leave the sport as a champion,” said the 31-year-old fighter in an interview with MMAFighting on Thursday.

Whether becoming a champion again happens at featherweight or if he will try to move up and fight in the 155-pound division is another question altogether. And it’s a question for another day.

“This is something that has crossed our minds before,” Aldo responded when asked about a move up to the lightweight division. “It didn’t happen at the time, but now the main goal is just to get the win on Saturday, become a champion again, and then we’ll see where everything goes.”