“I’m very Close” Jose Aldo hints at retirement, closing his legendary career with a title victory

Jose Aldo may just be the best fighter to have a consistent career despite it spanning more than a decade. In a sport where 32 is considered to be the age where you are basically discarded unless you have a brand value, Aldo has managed to consistently stay at the top of multiple divisions throughout multiple organizations.

However, at 35, Aldo is too well aware that his days in the sport are numbered despite how good he may look in the octagon. For someone who has been at the top of their game since 2004, it is in fact a tough pill to swallow when they have to finally let the sun set on such a glorious career.

Aldo began his MMA journey back in 2004 and went on to accumulate 7 straight finishes in the first round to kick off his MMA career. After suffering his first professional loss at the hands of Luciano Azevedo, Aldo would embark on his legendary 18-fight win streak, 15 of which came in high-level organizations like the UFC or WEC.

This legendary streak of Aldo was only broken by the bright lights of Conor McGregor, though the Irishman’s spark itself was short-lived. While many assumed the 13-second loss to McGregor would have been the end of Aldo, he proved everyone wrong by staying in title contention.

Related: Breaking: Jose Aldo vs Merab Dvalishvili targeted for UFC 278

Jose Aldo wishes to retire on top as Bantamweight Champion

After two losses to Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, Jose Aldo would finally decide to shift weight classes and move down to 135 at the age of 33. He would go on to lose a controversial decision to Marlon Moraes in his debut and suffer a beating at the hands of Petr Yan, fighting for the vacant undisputed title. While everyone thought that was the end Aldo would go on to prove them wrong and string a series of victories over top contenders keeping him right in title contention.

Now as he laces up to face Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278 card, Jose Aldo recognizes that he may not have a lot of mileage left in his tank and this is the last opportunity for him to fulfill his life’s goal, and retire as a champion. Talking to Combate, Aldo revealed his state of mind before the upcoming title eliminator at UFC 278.

“When we first started, I told Dede [Aldo’s Head Coach] that at 35 I’d be champion and I’d retire. That is why I say that I’m very close to retiring, though I used to say I’d retire as a champion, “ said Aldo about how he envisioned the sun setting on his career when he started off. Aldo then went on to explain his self-belief in making that vision come true by overcoming his next challenge saying, “You can give me Merab Dvalishvili, he’s a really tough guy, well-ranked, that nobody wants to fight. I’ll beat him and then I’ll win the belt, it’s already written.”

Aldo continued, “Dede and I used to dream about being double champions at featherweight and lightweight, but that ended up being different. We dropped to bantamweight and we’re about to fight for the title in this division.” Aldo and his coach firmly believed that the Brazilian legend had a legitimate chance at being a two-weight champion and retiring at the top, while part of that dream is gone, Aldo still has the chance to retire as the champion, he said, “I started out at bantamweight, I never thought I’d make that cut again. Now I’m ending my career at bantamweight, right where I started.”

Also Read: “Maybe he can be my tune-up”- Henry Cejudo, open to locking horns with Jose Aldo upon his return

Also Read: “The fans want it” Jose Aldo urges Aljamain Sterling to sign contract for title fight

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