Jose Aldo defies time. The legendary former UFC featherweight champ is unfortunately remembered most for being knocked out by Conor McGregor in 13 seconds at their UFC 194 clash! What people forget is that the reason McGregor ascended to superstardom after his thirteen-second knockout of Aldo was precisely because of just how good the Brazilian legend was.

‘Junior’ took back his title in the very next fight after losing it to ‘Mystic Mac’. And while ‘The Notorious’s career appears to have hit a wall and his reputation is in tatters, Aldo is still well-respected, fighting at a high level. However, there are signs that the 38-year-old is struggling a bit. The ‘King of Rio’ is currently ranked #11 in the 135-pound division, and was set to face the surging #15 Aiemann Zahabi at UFC 315 this Saturday. But at the last moment, the fight was moved to the 145-pound featherweight division. And to hear Zahabi tell it, the blame for this squarely rests on Aldo’s shoulders.

“So I was cutting my weights and I just got into the blankets this morning, and I was at 136.8 pounds. And Firaz was receiving the texts and the calls to stop cutting. Jose can’t make weight, he’s 145. There’s no way he’s gonna make the weight. And the commission won’t allow in Montreal a five-pound weight difference. So there’s no 20%, we have to do a featherweight fight, can’t do a bantamweight fight,” Zahabi told Sportsnet in an interview.

“So then we’re gonna think, we’re gonna renegotiate… Well, fights off. Because of the rules, the five-pound difference, fight’s off… So we renegotiated with Sean Shelby, and he gave me an offer that I accepted, and the fight’s on,” he added.

Usually, if a fighter misses weight, they forfeit 20% of their purse to their opponent if they have made weight successfully. However, since the Athletic Commission in Montreal doesn’t allow more than a five-pound deviation from the weight limit, the clash will now happen at featherweight. And it seems Zahabi was able to able to get some more money out of it. But for fans of Jose Aldo, this is a very worrying sign.

Jose Aldo faces uncomfortable questions about fighting future after UFC 315 weight miss

Aldo missing weight, and missing it by a big margin, is a bit surprising. After all, the Brazilian former champ is a consummate professional and has never missed weight in his twenty-two fight stint in the UFC so far. Aldo missing weight in such fashion may be because he is struggling to make 135, which is not surprising since making weight gets increasingly more difficult with age.

Aldo used to fight at 145 when he was in his prime. So his dropping down to 135 in his thirties did concern many. But as we have previously mentioned, he successfully made weight and assuaged those fears. But his recent missed weight for the upcoming pay-per-view raises the question—is this a one-off, or is Aldo done with bantamweight for good and returning to the division he once ruled?

Maybe. Or maybe, the missed weight holds another significance for Aldo. Maybe he’s too old to keep fighting. After all, he has been fighting almost continuously since he was seventeen. He has fought forty-two times and has done all that can be done in the sport. Not to mention, at 38, the chances that he is going to get a title shot even if he goes on a tear in the near future are slim. Well, we don’t know what the future holds for ‘Junior’. But how the Brazilian does at UFC 315 may give us some indications. What do you think about Jose Aldo’s missed weight and the Zahabi fight being moved up to featherweight?