- Jose Aldo reflected on his UFC return and transition to boxing
- “Junior” lifted the lid on his previously reported boxing match with Floyd Mayweather
- The Brazilian is rooting for Conor McGregor at UFC 303
Jose Aldo talked about his return at UFC 301, potentially facing Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match and his take on Conor McGregor’s upcoming fight with Michael Chandler.
Jose is thrilled to be back
Speaking to MMA Junkie, “Junior” was enthusiastic about his MMA return in his hometown in Brazil. He confirmed that he was originally offered to fight Dominick Cruz but they ended up with Jonathan Martinez. Nevertheless, Aldo is just happy to be back.
“I think I needed a break for my mind and my body,” Aldo said through an interpreter, reflecting on his decision to return. “Just due to the amount of demand I put on myself and the tole that it had taken on me training for the past 20 years. I found a discipline I could focus on which was boxing, and I did that for a while and I was able to kind of recover from all the pressure and everything else. Wanting to be the champion and every fight in there, the toll and the demand I put on myself and now I feel like I’ve done that, and I’m able to come back.”
“Obviously, it would’ve been good for me, for Dominick, for all the fans and the media who had been asking for this fight for such a long time,” he added. “There’s a lot of history around a fight between myself and Dominick, but Jonathan Martinez is a very tough opponent and what really matters to me is I look at every fight like I’m fighting the best and I’m fighting the biggest challenge. That hasn’t changed.”
Jose needs to see if it’s gonna be his last
Aldo also verified that he and the UFC have agreed that it would be his final fight under the promotion’s banner. The King of Rio said he already informed the UFC about his plan to do a massive boxing match but they will still discuss about it after UFC 301.
“That’s basically what I told the UFC a couple months ago,” Aldo said about the Martinez fight possibly being his last. “I want to do this fight, see where I’m at, see how I do, see how I perform and then I can make a decision. I’m looking at maybe a big boxing fight maybe somewhere down the line later this year. But we’ll revisit that with the UFC once this fight is done with Jonathan Martinez.”
Jose wants to be in the Tyson vs. Paul card
Last year, rumors swirled that Aldo will face Mayweather in a boxing match. According to the former UFC featherweight champ, it didn’t materialize but he still aims to secure a huge boxing match and possibly be included in the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson card.
“That fight with Floyd Mayweather was basically all set and done. Ali (Abdelaziz) was the one that was negotiating that and I don’t really know what happened and it ended up not panning out for us to fight in Saudi Arabia. But there’s a big event on Netflix later this year (Paul vs. Tyson) hopefully, I can get on that. But we’ll have to see. There’s a lot of options floating.”
Jose wants to see Conor win
Aldo suffered the toughest knockout loss of his career at the hands of McGregor. With “Notorious” also making his return at UFC 303 against Chandler, “Junior” wants to see his former rival to win via a finish if possible.
“I have great expectations for that fight and as I always say, I always root for the guys who I fought and the guys who have beaten me,” Aldo said on McGregor vs. Chandler. “Because, you know, that just proves that I lost to the best and I lost to champions. So, I hope that he can go in there and be the Conor of old, and be aggressive, and go in there to finish the fight, and not leave it to the judges. But, you know, I expect great things from that fight.”
It’s been almost two years since Aldo last stepped inside the Octagon. He is coming off a decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278. At 37, “Junior” will make his return and fight for the 40th time at UFC 301 against Martinez.
