MMA legend Jose Aldo has announced his retirement from the sport after being granted a release from his UFC contract, on the same day as the birth of his son.
The 36-year-old is one of the greatest champions in UFC and WEC history, and is a virtual lock to earn his place in the hall of fame. His UFC release likely sets him up to try his hand at boxing, something he has shown an interest in for many years.
Aldo has been training with world champion boxing trainer Robert Garcia and sparring against former Olympian Lindolfo Delgado in recent months.
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The Brazilian made his pro MMA debut in August 2004 under the EcoFight banner – and began his career in style, claiming a head kick KO in just 18 seconds to demolish Mario Bigola.
After his first defeat in late 2005, he would remain undefeated for more than a decade, claiming 18 straight wins across multiple organisations.
He became the longtime World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion and quickly took over in the UFC following the merger between the two organisations in 2010.
He eventually lost the title to Conor McGregor 2015 in a 13-second knockout, his first ever loss at featherweight. He won the belt again in 2016, but would lose it to Max Holloway in a pair of 2017 defeats.
He would go on to move down to Bantamweight in 2019, where he also fought for the title in a defeat to Petr Yan in 2020.
He retires with a 31-8 professional record and a host of records, including a record seven successful title defences, the most in UFC featherweight history. The two-time featherweight champion as well as interim champion’s last defeat was to Merab Dvalishvili in August.
Perhaps the most iconic moment of his career came in 2012 in his home city of Rio de Janeiro, where he knocked out Chad Mendes in the final second of the first round, and leapt into the crowd to celebrate with masses of adoring fans.
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