Jose Aldo plans to return to the Sweet Science after his fight against Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301.
Aldo (31-8) announced his retirement from mixed martial arts in September 2022 and has made two boxing appearances since then. “Junior” fought fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Jeremy Stephens to a majority draw in April 2023, before boxing via unanimous decision against Esteban Gabriel Espindora in July. He won his first victory.
It was recently announced that Aldo will be coming out of retirement to face the rapidly rising Martínez (19-4) in a bantamweight tilt at UFC 301 on May 4th. There had already been speculation, but Aldo confirmed the fight would take place in front of his home. The crowd in Rio de Janeiro will be the last of his UFC contract. The former UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting Featherweight Champion has since been looking to return to competitive pugilism and has already informed the UFC of his intentions.
“This is basically what I said to the UFC a few months ago: ‘I want this fight, see where I stand, how I do, see how I perform, and then I can make a decision,'” Aldo told MMA Junkie. told. “I think there’s going to be a big boxing match probably sometime this year. But once I finish my fight with Jonathan Martinez, I’m going to reconsider it with the UFC.”
Aldo has not fought since losing a unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili in August 2022, ending his win streak at three. Meanwhile, Martinez is on a six-fight winning streak, coming off a technical knockout victory over Adrian Yanez via leg kick. He won a second time using the same technique. A master of leg kicks, Aldo does not hesitate to trade blows for blows.
“I think he’s a very tough opponent and he has two wins with leg kicks, but I’m a specialist at what I do and I always end up facing someone who does the same thing that I do. But… That’s what I’m known for with my leg kicks. And I’m really ready to go out there and do my best and do what I’ve trained for.”
