Former champion retired in 2022, returned to UFC in 2024, and now has retired again … maybe
Jose Aldo announced his retirement in the cage Saturday after a loss at UFC 315 in Montreal.
Aldo (32-10 MMA, 14-9 UFC) dropped a unanimous decision to Aiemann Zahabi (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) on the main card. The fight originally was booked at bantamweight, the division in which Aldo has fought since 2019. But Aldo stopped cutting weight Friday when he was just below the featherweight limit, and the bout was moved up 10 pounds as the only way to save it.
After a competitive 15 minutes that most MMA analysts and observers tracked by MMA Decisions scored for Aldo, he had his second straight loss since he came out of retirement in 2024. The Brazilian first retired in 2022, but it was short-lived when he soon took up boxing, then returned to the UFC.
Now he’s retired again – but it seems even still, the door has been left open. Straight away, Aldo said “it may have been” his final time in the cage and closed by hedging with language about “if this was” his farewell.
Aldo lost the featherweight title in 2015 after a lengthy run. He won an interim belt the next year, but lost two title fights to Max Holloway. Two years later, a loss to future champ Alexander Volkanovski effectively sealed his title hopes at featherweight, and he dropped to bantamweight in late 2019.
Aldo went 3-3 in the division, then announced his retirement. That didn’t stick for long. He soon took up boxing matches, and then a year ago came out of one of the shortest retirements in UFC history.
Check out Aldo’s post below, then weigh in for yourself if you think this one will stick.
“This may have been my last time inside the Octagon. This week, I faced one of the biggest battles of my life, and it wasn’t against an opponent, but within myself. Over the past few years, I rekindled the dream of becoming a champion once again. I trained as I always did, gave more than I ever had. But while cutting weight, something inside me said: “You don’t need to do this anymore.” And I listened. It’s time to move forward. To live for my wife, for my kids. To celebrate the story I wrote with every war, every belt earned through blood and faith. Thank you, Dana White and @lorenzofertita. Thank you to the UFC. And most of all — thank you, my fans. You were the fuel behind every walk to the cage. You made me a king. If this was my farewell, know that I leave in peace. With a heart full of gratitude and my head held high. Because I made history. Because I lived my dream. Because, above all, I stayed true to myself.”