Jose Aldo is nearing the end of his contract with Ultimate Fighting Championship and has no interest in other MMA promotions despite lucrative offers.
Aldo announced his retirement after suffering a unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili in August 2022, ending his winning streak at three. “Junior” will come out of his retirement to take on Jonathan Martinez in a bantamweight tilt at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday.
Aldo recently confirmed reports that Martinez’s booking is the last fight on his UFC contract, but that he is not considering renewing his contract just yet. Aldo expects his upcoming fights to decide his future within the organization, but the Brazilian is also considering a switch to boxing.
“Yes, this is the last fight on the contract,” Aldo told CBS Sports. “When I started talking to Sean,
[Shelby] And my husband [White] In January we were talking about signing a new contract. But I wanted to get in there and I had to show them, I needed to show myself and everyone where I was, what I was still capable of, how I could still perform. So I decided to quit. We have many benefits available. If you want to do that too, you can set up a boxing match right away. So I said to them, “Let’s wait, let me get in there and do that performance, and then we’ll talk.” After that, we will see if we can sign a new contract. ”
In addition to various boxing offers, Aldo also claims to have been offered huge paychecks by rival MMA promotions. But the former UFC featherweight champion won’t let money lure him away from the Las Vegas-based promotion.
“We’ve been approached by other organizations and offered big purses of $1 million and things like that. But it’s not really a question of financial decision-making,” Aldo said. “I needed a break. I wanted to pursue my boxing dreams, so I’m back now. I’ve never wanted to fight anywhere else other than the UFC, so this fight is where I’m at now.” We need to see where we are and see where we go from there.”
