Jose Aldo, a mixed martial artist, has retired and will be remembered for his contributions to the sport.
The ‘King of Rio’ confirmed to the UFCHe stated that he intended to give up his gloves even though he had only one fight remaining on his contract.
Aldo’s most recent fight came in August in a unanimous decision defeat to Merab Dvalishvili. It was the Brazilian’s 20th under the promotion’s banner, and had another eight in WEC before being absorbed into the UFC.
He is one of UFC’s most prominent fighters, and was a former featherweight champion.
He was the UFC’s featherweight champion and held seven titles.
The 36-year old also won 18 and finished 11 in the featherweight divisions, both records.
Aldo stood firm against Urijah Faber and Chad Mendes to defend his belt. Conor McGregor was his biggest fight to date.
The famous fight lasted only 13 seconds, when he was hit with a left hook from the Irishman.
Ariel Helwani, a respected MMA journalist, stated that Aldo did NOT let defeat define his career.
He wrote on Twitter: “Jose Aldo’s greatest legacy, [in my opinion], aren’t the title defences, the wins or the KOs. It’s that he didn’t let the 2015 loss to McGregor define him.
“Many would have let that moment break them. Aldo. He persevered and found success in both weight classes. Absolute legend.”
Aldo maintained a 6-6 record following the McGregor fight of 2015. He also fought for his bantamweight title until 2020.
The Brazilian is being remembered by the great and the good of MMA.
