Jose Aldo says UFC 315 loss to Aiemann Zahabi was likely his final fight
Jose Aldo lost a thrilling three-round featherweight bout to Aiemann Zahabi on the main card of UFC 315 and said afterwards he doesn’t think he can keep competing at the highest level.
Mixed martial arts legend Jose Aldo may have competed in the UFC for the final time.
Aldo lost a thrilling three-round featherweight bout to Aiemann Zahabi on the main card of UFC 315 presented by Skilled Trades College and said afterwards he doesn’t think he can keep competing at the highest level.
Earlier in the week, the 38-year-old former 145-pound champion said he was not interested in legacy matchups and instead still had his sights set on winning another UFC title.
“I came back to be a champion and I need to go through people that are in my way,” Aldo told reporters Wednesday. “I need to be able and ready to fight anybody they put in front of me in order to be a champion. If these are the names they’re going to put in front of me, so be it. I need to do it.”
The bout was originally supposed to be a bantamweight contest, but was changed after Aldo was having a difficult weight cut. Aldo looked strong early against Zahabi before fading as the fight went on. All three judges scored the final two rounds for Zahabi, 37, who was competing in his hometown.
Aldo was the WEC featherlight champion before the UFC enveloped that organization in 2011. Aldo lost his title to Conor McGregor in 2015 and had been competing primarily at 135 pounds since 2019.
Aldo was previously inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023 following a brief retirement in 2022.
