One of the greatest competitors in
Ultimate Fighting Championship history,
Jose Aldo
reigned supreme over the 145-pound weight class between November
2009 and December 2015. During that period, he exercised dominion
as the featherweight king of
World Extreme Cagefighting and later became the inaugural
champion of that weight class in the UFC.
There was always an anticipation around Aldo’s fights, and he
delivered more often than not. The Brazilian would let his fists
and patented and perfected leg kicks do the talking when a fresh
wave of fighters were getting into trash talk mode on social media
or engaging in psychological warfare. “Junior” has always been a
true professional and a tremendous ambassador for the sport,
earning his spot in the Modern Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame in
2023. Over a year after announcing his retirement from the sport,
the hunger for competition has taken charge yet again, as Aldo
prepares to return to face
Jonathan
Martinez in the
UFC
301 co-main event this Saturday at Farmasi Arena in Rio de
Janeiro. It has been almost five years since he competed in front
of his home crowd—a factor that may have steered him in his
decision to mount a comeback.
Ahead of Aldo’s looming battle with Martinez at 135 pounds, a look
at some of the prominent rivalries that have made headlines
throughout his career:
This was easily one of the most talked about featherweight fights
in the history of the sport. The Brazilian traveled to Faber’s
hometown of Sacramento, California, to paint a brutal,
anguishing-to-watch, lopsided masterpiece. Aldo punished “The
California Kid,” chopping at his legs with vicious malice that
compromised Faber’s motion to the point that he became helpless.
While Faber endured through five rounds of punishment, Aldo’s
superiority over his became clear in a
WEC
48 performance that marked the first defense of his
featherweight title.
In each instance that Mendes collided with Aldo, he was reveling in
the stride of his best career runs. Prior to their first encounter
at
UFC
142, Mendes had developed a reputation as a menacing threat,
pounding his chest and vaunting the power of an 11-fight undefeated
streak. Yet it took Aldo just one round to overpower the challenge
of his rival. Entangled in a clinch against the fence, Aldo fought
the hands to break free and landed a vicious knee while
anticipating chain wrestling from Mendes. The first-round
buzzer-beater victory sent the home crowd in Rio de Janeiro into a
frenzy, as Aldo jumped over the fence and lunged into a sea of
jubilant fans. The next time they crossed paths, Mendes was on a
five-fight winning streak with four finishes. This time, he managed
to drop Aldo in the first frame but was also on the receiving end
of two knockdowns. In the end, Aldo’s blitz on the feet was
rewarded by the judges, as the Brazilian walked away with unanimous
decision scores of 49-46 on all three judges’ scorecards.
A copious display of leg kicks and crisp boxing from Aldo dictated
his first encounter with a fellow MMA legend in Edgar, who entered
their clash at
UFC
156 on a two-fight losing skid. The debuting featherweight
dropped his lightweight crown to
Benson
Henderson and failed to recapture the throne against “Smooth.”
Aldo was wise to Edgar’s takedown attempts, and the judges scored
the bout unanimously in favor of the Brazilian. The Las Vegas-based
promotion’s
bicentennial
groundbreaking event would become the grand stage that hosted the
rematch between the featherweight stalwarts. This time, the interim
crown was up for grabs since then-reigning champion
Conor
McGregor was single-mindedly locked in on securing a rematch
against arch-nemesis
Nate Diaz at
170 pounds. The rematch between Aldo and Edgar did not play out any
differently, as the Brazilian outwitted and outclassed his rival
through five rounds to secure another unanimous decision.
An account of a combat sports star remains incomplete without the
arc of an antagonist. In Aldo’s case, McGregor donned the
fascinating yarn. The brash Irishman pushed Aldo to the brink with
his psychological warfare, questioning the long-reigning champion’s
skills with verbal jousting that often crossed the line, as he
imposed his personality on “Junior” at every possible turn during
their multi-leg world press tour. McGregor’s mind games penetrated
Aldo’s shield, and the Brazilian was visibly ruffled. He carried
those emotions into their blockbuster clash at
UFC
194. The result? “Notorious” cracked Aldo with a counter left
hook in 13 seconds. It remains the fastest win in a championship
fight in promotional history.
It was simply the passing of the guard each time Aldo faced
Holloway. The time-honored fighter simply could not keep up with
the ferocity of a keen upstart with momentum propelling him
forward. Both encounters in 2017 witnessed Holloway’s pressure
mounting on Aldo, who eventually wilted under the heat poured on by
the Hawaiian. He succumbing to TKO losses in the third rounds of
their
UFC
212 and
UFC
218 UFC 218 clashes.