Jose Aldo is back!
Per a report from AGFight, the former featherweight champion is returning to the Octagon at UFC 301 on May 4. Emanating from the Jeunesse Arena in Rio De Janeiro, ‘Junior’ is scheduled to square off with Jonathan Martinez. It will be Aldo’s first mixed martial arts bout since a loss against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278 in August 2022.
Following the defeat, Aldo announced that he would be walking away from MMA, but always left the door open for a potential return. Since his time away from the UFC, Aldo has kept busy in the world of boxing, competing in two bouts under the Shooto Brasil Boxing banner as well as a fight with former UFC star Jeremy Stephens at Gamebred Boxing 4 last April. Aldo came out on top at both Shooto events, but his bout with Stephens was dubbed a majority draw after going six rounds.
Aldo is considered to be the greatest featherweight in the history of the division. Between 2006 and 2015, he won 18 straight fights, including a WEC title-winning performance against Matt Brown in 2009. Aldo was later promoted to UFC featherweight champion after the promotion absorbed the WEC.
He defended the title a record-setting seven times, besting some of the biggest names to ever come through the weight class, including The Korean Zombie, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes, and Frankie Edgar.
His reign came to a crashing halt after suffering a 13-second KO against Irish megastar Conor McGregor at UFC 194.
Aldo later bounced back, winning the interim title, and was once again promoted to undisputed champion. He later lost the belt to Max Holloway. He put a cap on his UFC career going 3-1 in his last four with wins against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, Pedro Munhoz, and Rob Font.
UFC 301 Books Jose Aldo and an Unexpected Flyweight Title Fight
In addition to Jose Aldo’s return, fight fans will also be treated to a flyweight championship clash as Alexandre Pantoja is set to defend his title against No. 10 ranked contender Steve Erceg. The announcement came as quite a surprise considering Erceg has only had three fights under the UFC banner. His most recent appearance ended with a highlight-reel knockout of Matt Schnell at a UFC Fight Night event in early March.
Erceg being trusted into the main event was the subject of immediate backlash, but with the top of the division essentially playing round-robin and Brandon Moreno coming up short against short-notice replacement opponent Brandon Royval, the UFC was forced to think outside the box and deliver something fans haven’t seen before in the increasingly stagnant division.
