Jose Aldo was one of the pound-for-pound best during his heyday. People still consider him the greatest despite facing defeats to other UFC featherweight champions apart from Ilia Topuria. This is due to his 10-year unbeaten reign in the WEC and UFC, which made him the unofficial ‘King of Rio.’ With Aldo coming back from retirement to fight in Rio at UFC 301, fight fans are excited.
After Aldo moved to the USA to concentrate on his MMA career, he fought four times in Rio, splitting wins and losses. The first time he fought was at UFC 142 against Chad Mendes. Aldo won the fight via first-round knockout and celebrated with the crowd, thus showing who ‘The King of Rio’ is. As such, Aldo’s grappling coach, Marlon Sandro, expects something similar at UFC 301.
On May 4th [at UFC 301], you can expect a beautiful knockout from [Jose] Aldo. Connecting all the punches. His return will be a great show. It will make our country happy.
Jose Aldo via UFC Embedded
Wendel Almeida, Aldo’s teammate, revealed on the UFC Embedded that Aldo is showing immense strength in his kicks. He even stated that 2 or 3 leg kicks from Aldo to the arm of Jonathan Martinez would signal the end of the fight. Nonetheless, Martinez is fighting for the heritage of his mother and father, thus making the case for a splendid fight against Aldo.
Aldo has lost in Rio during his last two appearances. The first came against Max Holloway at UFC 212, and the second against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 237. After his first victory in Rio against Mendes, Aldo won his second fight against the Korean Zombie. At UFC 301, Aldo would be looking to halt the losing streak.
Jose Aldo speaks on fighting at UFC 301
Not many MMA fighters have the resume or accomplishments of Jose Aldo. With victories over Urijah Faber, Mike Brown, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, the Korean Zombie, Renato Moicano, and Marlon Vera, Aldo has cemented his status as an all-time great.
Jose Aldo (via theScore)Moreover, Aldo has only lost to legends like Conor McGregor, Alexander Volkanovski, Petr Yan, Merab Dvalishvili, and Max Holloway. As such, pressure is not a thing for Aldo as he would take on surging contender Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301. The Brazilian spoke of his mentality before the fight in the recent UFC Embedded episode.
So we did all the work that needs to be done. I think we always have to respect, no matter who is it. This is important for me. So we did the training. Everything is fine and now we get in there and do our best.
Jose Aldo via UFC Embedded
Aldo is fighting the last fight of his contract against Martinez. Nonetheless, he has revealed his championship aspirations with a victory over Martinez. With both Martinez and Aldo being exceptional strikers, fight fans will expect an exciting striking match.
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