Jose Aldo recently called it quits after a legendary career in the UFC. One of the greatest mixed martial artists of all-time, Aldo is likely destined for the UFC Hall of Fame now that he has retired.
Speaking on the official UFC YouTube channel, Aldo revisited some of the most iconic moments of his mixed martial arts career. This includes when he jumped into the crowd following his first-round knockout of Chad Mendes to defend his featherweight title at UFC 142 in Brazil.
Jose Aldo is the most decorated featherweight in UFC history and one of the most decorated fighters regardless of weight class. Speaking on the UFC's official YouTube channel, Aldo initially revisited the first time he entered the crowd, following his WEC 38 knockout of Rolando Perez.
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"I won and I ran to the crowd for the first time. It's funny because that night it was me, Dede, and Thales Leites, and Thales was translating. I couldn't understand English at that time so Thales was translating and he was joking saying that I could not do a bunch of things and I told him that I was going to run to the crowd. It was so funny because I said that and he said I couldn't, but I thought he was making fun of me so I did."
Jose Aldo jumped into the crowd once again at UFC 142 after defending his featherweight title. When asked about the moment, the retired fighter added:
"Being in Brazil, it was only right. The fans are really warm, a lot of energy. I knew that it was my night. I knew I was going to win and run to the crowd. That's when people started calling me the 'King of Rio'. It means a lot, fighting at home feels different. Friends and family are close and able to watch from the arena, and I'm a very passionate guy so to be able to win and celebrate with the crowd was really nice, and I'm the King of Rio ever since."
Watch Jose Aldo's full interview below:
Jose Aldo retires following UFC 278 loss
Many speculated that Jose Aldo would walk away from mixed martial arts following his loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278.
His retirement drew plenty of reactions from fans and fighters alike, both of which showed tremendous respect for the legendary featherweight. While Aldo had stated that he was looking to make one last title run before walking away, his loss at UFC 278 all but ensured that he would have a long path to re-entering the title picture in a tough bantamweight division.
After a 25-1 start to his mixed martial arts career, Aldo is just 6-7 in his last 13 fights, signaling that it was time for him to hang up his gloves. Despite the tough ending to his career, Aldo seems destined for the UFC Hall of Fame in the near future.