Athletes
José Aldo Never Stopped Chasing Gold
Former Featherweight Champion José Has His Sights Set On Defeating Merab Dvalishvili At UFC 278 And Going For The Bantamweight Belt Soon After
When the UFC established its featherweight division in 2010, absorbing the WEC’s 145-pound roster, José Aldo became the inaugural UFC featherweight champion, keeping the gold he captured before the merger.
Four years later, he was the pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter in the promotion, defending his title seven times in that span. But what he had in talent and legacy was being overshadowed by Conor McGregor, a superstar who flashed onto the scene as Aldo was continuing his legacy dominating the division.
They eventually met in the headliner at UFC 194, the most anticipated bout in the company’s history up until that point. Only 13 seconds and one punch later, the fight was over, and McGregor had his hand raised.
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From then on, the opponents didn’t get any easier, and Aldo’s career appeared to be on its decline. In the blink of an eye, Aldo lost six of nine fights after beginning his career 23-1, and it felt like The King of Rio was nearing retirement.
“When I was at my lowest, my coach Dede (Andre Pederneiras), who’s like a father to me, has always been there for me,” Aldo said. “He told me that he’d support me if I wanted to stop.”
“Also, my family. They’re my foundation and have always given me strength. My wife, my daughter, they help me keep working hard. And obviously, my training partners that have seen and see my potential in the training and what I do in the sessions. They know I have the potential to go even further.”
José Aldo | Top Finishes
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José Aldo | Top Finishes
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After losing to the likes of McGregor, Max Holloway and current UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, Aldo needed a change of scenery. Dropping down to the bantamweight division in December 2019, the Brazilian had a new opportunity to chase his same dream of being a world champion.
“It was something new to me,” Aldo said about his move to 135 pounds. “But now I think I’m improving more and more and I’m getting to my prime, so I’m sure the title will be the pinnacle.”
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At first, the transition wasn’t going to plan. Despite getting a title shot against Petr Yan for the vacant belt only two fights later, Aldo lost both those bouts. It wasn’t until his third walk as a bantamweight, when he faced Ecuadorian phenom Marlon Vera, that there was a clear switch in mentality and overall talent, talent that UFC fans hadn’t seen from Aldo in years.
A lot of that success was in large part due to a change in training regimen that Aldo adopted after his loss to Yan. Between fights, Aldo took up training with the Brazilian Navy’s boxing team, where the former pound-for-pound best fighter in the world was an outsider.
“I tried looking for something new,” Aldo said. “I joined the Brazilian Navy boxing team. That’s what has gotten me here today. When I first started, they said I didn’t know how to box or move well, so I had to work really hard with the teacher for three months.”
“We have to learn from our losses and that’s what I did. I had to go through all that, and thank God today I’m seeing the results of having good boxing and good movement.”
MORE UFC 278: Kamaru Usman | Leon Edwards | Luke Rockhold | Paulo Costa | Merab Dvalishvili
In this time, Aldo developed a boxing-heavy style, utilizing less of his patented leg kicks and throwing clean, crisp punches. Aldo’s boxing developed so much in this time that he strung together two consecutive wins over Pedro Munhoz and Rob Font, each performance looking better than the last.
Against Font, Aldo put his boxing on display with quality over quantity. Being outweighed in the sheer number of strikes landed, Aldo scored two knockdowns and had Font in danger on numerous occasions over the five-rounder.
José Aldo Fight Week Interview | UFC 278
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José Aldo Fight Week Interview | UFC 278
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Aldo’s improvements in his standup game hid the fact that his grappling is still top-notch. Controlling Font for nine minutes on the mat, the win showed that Aldo was becoming the well-rounded and dangerous fighter he was at featherweight, just now 10 pounds south.
Stringing together three consecutive wins, Aldo finds himself in the UFC bantamweight division’s Top 5. Today, he looks to stay in the driver’s seat on the road to a title shot, when he takes on Merab Dvalishvili on the UFC 278: Usman vs Edwards 2 main card in Salt Lake City.
“He’s always very aggressive,” Aldo said of his opponent. “He looks to grapple and attack all the time. But I’ve seen that when he gets hit, he tends to slow down. Obviously, it’s a very tough fight. As I said, I’ve prepared for that, but I feel very calm regarding what I have to do. No matter what happens, I’m ready. I know I’m going to win, and I hope to win quickly by knockout.”
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A win over Dvalishvili may earn the King of Rio a second opportunity at the bantamweight title, an opportunity that could provide Aldo with the perfect swan song to close out his Hall of Fame caliber career.
“[A title fight] could be a great opportunity for me to fight in Rio again,” Aldo said. “Especially a fight that could potentially be the last one of my career. So, that’d be great, but that’s not only up to me. What I can do is beat Merab and if I get the chance to fight in Rio again, that’d be great.”
“Sterling and TJ are fighting in October, so if everything goes well and Sterling wins without any injuries and he takes this fight, that’d be perfect for me. It would be the perfect way to end my career; fighting at home where I have all my friends and family.”
UFC 278: Usman vs Edwards 2 took place live from the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah on August 20, 2022. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses- and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
