José Aldo to Fight Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301 in Return from Retirement at Age 37 | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
UFC Hall of Famer José Aldo is returning to the octagon at UFC 301 in his first bout since announcing his retirement in 2022.
Aldo will take on Jonathan Martinez on the May 4 show from Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
UFC @ufcThe King of Rio is making his return to the Octagon! 🇧🇷<a href="">@JonathanMyda</a> takes on <a href="">@JoseAldoJunior</a> at <a href="">#UFC301</a> <a href="">
The official announcement of Aldo's return bout comes after reports earlier this week that he was going to be making a return.
Aldo retired from mixed martial arts in September 2022. His decision came on the same day he announced his wife, Vivianne Perreira, gave birth to the couple's second child.
UFC @ufcThe King of Rio calls it a career 👑<br> <br>Congratulations <a href="">@JoseAldoJunior</a> on a legendary run 👏 <a href="">
The last time Aldo fought in mixed martial arts was on Aug. 20, 2022, when he lost to Merab Dvalishvili via unanimous decision at UFC 278. He did have two professional boxing matches in 2023.
At the peak of his career, Aldo was arguably the best pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world. He had a 25-1 record through his first 26 fights and was crowned the first UFC featherweight champion after the promotion merged with WEC in 2010.
Aldo successfully defended the title seven times during his first reign. His most famous bout was a 13-second loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 194 to unify the featherweight championship.
Junior defeated Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 to win the interim title. He was later promoted to the undisputed champion when McGregor was stripped of the title because he moved up in class to fight in the welterweight division.
Aldo was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2023.
Martinez owns a 19-4 career record, including 10 wins in 13 UFC fights. He's won six consecutive bouts, most recently defeating Adrian Yanez via second-round TKO at a Fight Night event on Oct. 14.
UFC 301 will be the promotion's first numbered event in Brazil since UFC 283 on Jan. 21, 2023. This will mark Aldo's first time competing in an MMA event in his home country since 2019.
