Jose Aldo thinks he could’ve fought for the UFC’s bantamweight title again had he not retired.
After Aldo lost a decision to Merab Dvalishvili he announced he was retiring from MMA as he wanted to go into boxing. The news was surprising as Aldo was still a top-10 bantamweight and the Brazilian says he believes he could’ve gone on to fight for the belt again but was pleased with his run.
Jose Aldo Still Believes
“I think if I carried on, I could have developed and had a good run for the belt,” Aldo said at UFC 283. “But I think it was time to end the career. I was very happy with the streak and the run that I had (at bantamweight).”
Jose Aldo did have a ton of success at bantamweight so perhaps he would’ve fought for the belt again. But, his career is still one of the best ever as many consider him the greatest featherweight of all time and on Saturday night, it was announced he would be inducted into the UFC’s Hall of Fame which was emotional for him.
“I was flattered,” Aldo said at a news conference at UFC 283. “I was not expecting it. I had no idea. It just brought it home. I was raised here. I was (called) the ‘King of Rio.’ I’ve got nothing but gratitude to the UFC and all the fighters who sent a message to me (in the video package). I’m flattered.”
Jose Aldo (31-8) ends his career with the decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili while prior to that, he beat Rob Font, Pedro Munhoz, and Marlon Vera. Before the three-fight losing skid, he suffered a TKO loss to Petr Yan for the belt and in his bantamweight debut dropped a controversial split decision to Marlon Moraes.
In his career, Aldo holds notable wins over Frankie Edgar, Chad Mendes, Korean Zombie, Urijah Faber, Cub Swanson, and Mike Brown among countless others.