UFC legend Jose Aldo returns to bantamweight action next week at UFC 301 and believes that the 135lb division will have a new champion in the near future.
After a short foray into the world of boxing, MMA legend Jose Aldo is finally set to make his UFC return next weekend in Brazil, and ahead of his co-main event clash with Jonathan Martinez, the ‘King of Rio’ has predicted that the bantamweight division will soon have a new ruler.
MMA legend Jose Aldo returns to bantamweight for UFC 301
Jose Aldo is as close to Mixed Martial Arts royalty as you can get, which is why so many fans past and present are celebrating the former featherweight champion’s return next weekend at UFC 301.
The 37-year-old veteran will feature in the co-main event of the PPV against surging contender Jonathan Martinez, who is himself riding an impressive six-fight winning streak – which includes notable victories over Said Nurmagomedov, Adrian Yanez, and Cub Swanson.
Whilst the ‘King of Rio’ is the former featherweight champion, his last six fights in the UFC octagon have been at bantamweight – Aldo now expects the top of the 135lb tree to change drastically before the end of 2024.
Jose Aldo predicts former opponent will soon claim the 135lb title
Aldo is returning to the octagon after three fights in the boxing ring, two unanimous decision wins and a draw to former UFC fighter Jeremy Stephens: with his last MMA bout ending in a decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili back in 2022.
Speaking to Brett Okamoto via the ESPN MMA YouTube channel, Aldo shared that despite coming up short in his last MMA fight against the Georgian sensation, he credits Merab for giving him a new lease of life, especially at this stage in his career:
“Once I fight, that fight [against Merab Dvalishvili] is in the past for me, I don’t think about it anymore so losing to Merab had nothing to do with my desire to come back – It did have a lot to do with my desire to take time for myself and to realize that I needed some time for my body, for my mind, and everything else.”
Aldo stated that he holds no animosity or “disrespect against Merab,” before sharing that it won’t be long before Dvalishvili gets his hand raised over current king Sean O’Malley: “I root for him and I hope he becomes champion because then I’ll have only lost to champions.”
The UFC Hall of Famer praised O’Malley for the manner in which he dethroned Aljamain Sterling, stating that “he’s got all the hype around him, [and] he promotes himself very well.”
“But a fight between him and Merab – I think Merab’s a great striker who plays very well with the short distance and I think he will come out on top.”
‘Junior’ was full of praise for former foe Max Holloway
Another former opponent of Aldo who has been in the news in recent weeks is Max Holloway, whose stunning last-second KO of Justin Gaethje continues to rack up millions of views online.
As someone who has faced the fire and fury of ‘Blessed’ twice before, Okamoto asked Jose Aldo what he thought about Holloway’s buzzer-beating finish at UFC 300:
“I love Max and I love all the other guys who were from the WEC, and I watched that fight against Gaethje, who’s a very tough guy, who’s a lightweight. He put on a great fight, and I really do root for Max to continue his legacy and put on great fights whether he goes to featherweight or lightweight.”
“I’m always going to root for him,” said the former champion, who added that he “would have done the same” as Gaethje in choosing to throw down in the final few seconds.
“A lot of people talk about my knockout loss to Conor [McGregor] but at the end of the day, it’s competition, we win some, we lose some and life continues.”
Jose Aldo makes his UFC return next weekend in the co-main event of UFC 301.