Did José Aldo retire at UFC 278: Usman vs Edwards 2? Merab Dvalishvili claims that in the aftermath of his win over Aldo by decision, the former featherweight king told him he was done.
Aldo entered the fight on a three-fight win streak and, had he won, likely would’ve been fighting for the belt. Suffering the loss, however, he will likely need to string together a few more wins to get back in the title picture. With that, Dvalishvili revealed after UFC 278, Aldo told him he was done.
“When he was down and I [went] to shake his hand and tell him, ‘Thank you so much for the fight,’” Dvalishvili said on The MMA Hour.
“I go to respect him, he was down, and I tried to help him, and he was telling me, he said, ‘That means this is my last fight, because it was my last run to title. I guess I’m done.’ It was a very emotional moment. That’s why I was talking to him. I said, ‘You’re amazing, you did so much, you don’t have anything to prove, you’re a legend – you’re a king.’ I was a little bit heartbroken.”
Only Aldo Can Answer the Question “Did José Aldo Retire?”
As of right now, Aldo has yet to confirm if he is retiring. He did release a statement on social media thanking his fans but did not indicate he would be hanging up his gloves. Perhaps, it was in the heat of the moment he told Dvalishvili that.
Although UFC 278 also marked the biggest win in Dvalishvili’s career in beating a legend like Aldo, he admits it was sad that he ended the Brazilian’s title chances, and possibly his career.
“It’s hard when you see somebody like this,” Dvalishvili said. “As a fighter, I know how hard [it is]. I never want to end my career. I always want to fight. I don’t see when I should retire. But when he realized he lost, he said, ‘That was my last run to title. I guess I’m done.’ That was hard.”
If this is it for Aldo, he would end his career with a record of 31-8 and will go down as of the best fighters of all time.
