At UFC 315, held in Montreal, ‘The King of Rio’ Jose Aldo fought the Canadian Aiemann Zahabi, and their bout was set at 135 pounds in the UFC’s bantamweight division. However, the bout was shifted to featherweight when Aldo and Zahabi missed the weight by 8 pounds and 7 pounds, respectively. Even in a missed weight-cut, Aldo was as close as one could get to home; there, once he was the featherweight king across WEC and UFC, garnering seven title defenses in his run.

The fight ended in a unanimous decision victory for Zahabi, a decision that was highly disputed by the MMA community. They believed Aldo had done enough in the first round and the second to earn the victory. The loss also came as a bitter ending to his career because he had surprised the world when he announced that he had retired from MMA, and that we may never see him again.

It was evident from the weigh-ins that Aldo didn’t want to be there. Post-fight, it was revealed that the Brazilian phenom was suffering from a torn arm muscle, abdominal problems, and a viral infection, leading to his failed weight-cut and the bout being shifted to 145 pounds instead. UFC legend, Paul Felder, shared his thoughts on the controversy when he sat down with UFC Hall of Famer and former middleweight champion Michael Bisping on his podcast, ‘Believe You Me’. Felder believed Aldo’s team called in the doctors themselves and wanted the fight to be moved up to end ‘The King of Rio’s suffering to make 135 pounds.

The Irish Dragon told Bisping, “And the other thing is, those doctors don’t just show up to your room to check on you. Somebody calls the doctor to come and check on you. And if you know, no, I can do it, I’m going to push through it. Yeah, you feel like sh**. If you got nine pounds left to cut on Thursday, it’s going to suck. You know it’s going to suck. And the only reason that somebody calls a doctor is to kind of make that process happen. That cuz they’re going to check you. And if any medical doctor sees you in the state that 99% of us are on Thursday night, leading into a Friday morning weigh-in. Yeah You’re not you’re not very fit to fight at that point.

After an abrupt ending to his career in the sport, despite making his return just in 2024, Aldo has left more questions than answers on his path towards the sunset. After suffering three losses and winning just one of last four fights, one has to wonder if he should’ve comeback in 2024 or stayed retired.

Jose Aldo retires from MMA again. Should he have stayed retired instead?

Back in August, 2022, at UFC 278, Jose Aldo retired from MMA after suffering a loss to then rising contender and now bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili. After this retirement, the Brazilian phenom seemed to leave the sport on a good note as he addressed his retirement saying: “I’m very happy and satisfied with everything I did in MMA, especially in the UFC.” And what followed was his short run at boxing, garnering two wins and one draw in his time in the ring.

Jose Aldo’s boxing career was short yet sweet. Following his UFC retirement, Aldo debuted in boxing against Emmanuel Zambrano and earned a unanimous decision victory over him. Then for his second bout he sent us back to his prime UFC days as he clashed against former UFC fighter Jeremy Stephens in a fight that competitive to its core, yet it ended in a draw. His third fight in the boxing ring saw him win yet again when he won by unanimous decision against Esteban Espíndola.

After his boxing stint, in May 2024, at UFC 301 Jose Aldo made a strong return when he won against an up-and-coming contender in Jonathan Martinez. Following this victory fans and the fighter himself expected to go for a final title run but ‘The King of Rio’s body and mind did not follow the tune of his heart. In his next two fights he lost to Mario Bautista and then Zahabi, forcing Aldo to retire on a bitter note as his body couldn’t handle the weight-cuts anymore.

At 39 years of age, it takes a miracle to compete with the ever-changing and competitive roster of the UFC. But Aldo was already a two-time featherweight champion with seven title defenses on his resume. Even if he is able to challenge the ranked fighters and the newcomers, Aldo has done enough in MMA to be called one among the greatest of the sport. He can easily call it quits and look back at his illustrious career.

Or he could go back to boxing. A sport where he is undefeated and fight veterans like himself and earn some big bucks as he rides out of from the fight business forever.  What’s next for ‘The King or Rio’ Jose Aldo? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.