Brendan Miller
José Aldo is preparing for great things in 2024. It’s not the UFC Hall of Famer’s first time on the block and he’s looking to make the most of a rare opportunity at UFC 301 on Saturday.
Aldo is without a doubt the greatest featherweight in MMA history. That’s quite a feat when your contemporaries in the debate are Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. The “King of Rio” – who ends his 18-month MMA retirement against Jonathan Martinez this weekend – has always sought gold. The record-breaking featherweight champion fought Petr Yan for the vacant bantamweight title in 2020 and was on the verge of another title shot before losing to Merab Dvalishvili in 2022. Aldo says his goals haven’t changed, but new factors are clearly at play.
“I think that’s every fighter’s goal, to fight for that championship,” Aldo told CBS Sports through an interpreter. “I needed a break and I had a break. I recovered and now I’m back. Fighting for the belt and being champion, being the best, of course that’s my goal.”
The rehiring or releasing of UFC talent makes headlines regularly. It’s not often that an athlete voluntarily fights for a UFC contract, but that’s the fortuitous position Aldo finds himself in. Aldo met with UFC president Dana White and matchmaker Sean Shelby ahead of UFC 301. His return was a surprise, but a necessary addition to a pay-per-view sorely lacking in star power. After the meeting, Aldo chose not to re-sign with the top mixed martial arts organization.
“Yes, this is the last fight of my contract,” said Aldo. “When I started talking to Sean and Dana in January, we talked about signing a new contract. But I decided not to do that because I want to go there and I need to show them, myself and everyone where I am, what I can still do and how I can still perform.”
It’s an admirable stance, but not the most responsible choice if he plans to stay where he is. Beating Martinez won’t give Aldo much of an advantage in negotiations. The biggest benefit Aldo gets from fighting for his contract is the legal flexibility to explore other combat sports opportunities.
“We have a lot of offers,” said Aldo. “We could have a boxing match scheduled very quickly if we wanted to do that. I told them, ‘Let’s wait. Let me go over there and make a presentation. We’ll talk after that to see if we’re going to renew a deal or not.'”
Retirement does not release a fighter from his UFC contract. Aldo sought permission from the promotion before venturing into boxing last year. Likewise, Jorge Masvidal reached a deal with the UFC before announcing a boxing fight against Nate Diaz on June 1st. Aldo has fought three times in the ring as of 2023, winning one exhibition and going 1-0-1 professionally. So what’s the harm in re-signing with the UFC if they allow him to box?
Check out the full interview with José Aldo below.
“There is a big event at Netflix later this year and I hope I can participate,” said Aldo Addicted to MMA last week. “But we’ll have to see. There are a lot of options floating around.”
That big event will be Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson on July 20th. It is possible that the UFC will not release Aldo to compete on the Netflix card. Paul has repeatedly criticized the UFC’s treatment of fighters and is currently signed to a rival promotion, the Professional Fighters League. Fighting for his UFC contract would give Aldo room to negotiate a fight between Paul and Tyson. Although boxing is on the cards for Aldo this year, he is not seriously considering signing with any other MMA promotion.
“We were approached by other organizations and offered large multi-million dollar grants,” Aldo said. “But it’s not really a question of a financial decision. I needed that break and I wanted to follow my dream of boxing. Now I’m coming back. I never thought about fighting MMA other than UFC. I’m now with this fight and where I’m going from there.”
