How old was José Aldo when he fought Conor McGregor? All about the Brazilian's fight with 'The Notorious'

José Aldo is one of the greatest fighters in MMA history and is scheduled to make a shocking return from retirement to co-headline UFC 301, which takes place in his native Brazil. The former UFC featherweight champion will face streaking 135-pounder, Jonathan Martinez, who is also known for his thunderous low kicks.

It is a massive step up in competition for Martinez, at least from a credentials standpoint. Aldo is a UFC Hall of Famer and still holds the promotion's record for featherweight title defenses. That title defense streak only came to an end courtesy of one Conor McGregor.

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How old was José Aldo when he fought Conor McGregor?

When José Aldo faced Conor McGregor, he was on an 18-fight win streak and aiming to successfully defend his featherweight title for the eighth consecutive time. The two men were originally scheduled to lock horns at UFC 189 on July 11, 2015, before a rib injury forced the Brazilian to withdraw from the bout.

Instead, they clashed on Dec. 12, 2015, at UFC 194. At the time, Aldo was 29 years old but already a veteran of 27 professional MMA bouts. This was brought up by McGregor ahead of their bout, with the Irishman describing his rival as shopworn, subjecting him to a storm of vicious trash talk.

This enraged the Brazilian, who was more accustomed to his opponents regarding him with reverence. Trash talk was new to him, so come fight night, Aldo wanted nothing more than to rip McGregor's head off. Unfortunately, in his eagerness to behead his foe, Aldo lunged chin-first into McGregor's patented straight left.

Check out the entire José Aldo vs. Conor McGregor fight:

The blow knocked the Brazilian out before he even fell to the mat. McGregor landed some follow-up hammer fists but the fight was already over, in 13 seconds in fact. It remains the fastest finish in UFC championship history.

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How old was José Aldo when he first became the UFC featherweight champion?

Before signing with the UFC, José Aldo was the WEC featherweight, having twice defended the title. Afterward, the UFC acquired the promotion and he was promoted to the UFC featherweight champion, with him formally defending the belt for the first time at UFC 129.

At the time he was crowned the promotion's featherweight champion, he was just 24, making him the second-youngest champion in UFC history. He is surpassed only by Jon Jones, who TKO'd Maurício 'Shogun' Rua at UFC 128 and was crowned the light-heavyweight champion at 23.