The Brazilian icon is heading up north for another clash against a contender that has momentum on his side at 135-pounds.
At UFC 301 in May last year, Jose Aldo made his return to the Octagon and delivered a statement performance against Jonathan Martinez after two years away.
The legendary former featherweight champion wasn’t able to keep this momentum going as Aldo suffered a controversial loss to Mario Bautista last October.
Now, the ‘King of Rio’ is back and this time he’s going up to Canada to take on another ranked contender in the bantamweight division.
Aldo joins the likes of Belal Muhammad vs Jack Della Maddalena on the UFC 315 card on May 10 in Montreal which boasts some big fights.
Jose Aldo faces Aiemann Zahabi at UFC 315 in Montreal
For his third fight since returning to the UFC last year, Jose Aldo will look to bounce back into the win column when he faces in-form contender Aiemann Zahabi.
Benoit Beaudoin was the first to report the fight news via X, confirming another big matchup for the Bell Centre.
The Canadian is the younger brother of legendary MMA coach Firas Zahabi who was in the corner for the great Georges St-Pierre during his career.
With Zahabi also training out of Tristar Gym and citing ‘GSP’ as his role model, he will now look to earn the biggest win of his UFC career to date.
The 37-year-old debuted inside the Octagon in 2017 with a win over Reginaldo Vieira but went on to suffer back-to-back losses.
Since then, he has turned his fortunes around with five straight wins including recent victories over Javid Basharat and Pedro Munhoz, earning him the #13-ranking.
He’s sure to have the Canadian fans behind him in Montreal on May 10 but you also cannot underestimate the love and adoration that fight fans have for Aldo.
This fight has big implications for Jose Aldo
The stakes are clear for Aiemann Zahabi in this fight as he looks to extend his winning streak by adding a huge name to his record.
For Jose Aldo, his UFC return has been difficult to judge thus far after seeing him take on two newer additions to the top of bantamweight division.
His performance at UFC 301 was electric but last time out against Bautista, it was a frustrating watch regardless of who you place the blame on.
If Aldo gets his hand raised in Montreal, we could still see him taking on the best that the 135-pound division has to offer but a loss might open that up for debate.