Athletes
Jose Aldo Is Aging Like Fine Wine
UFC Hall Of Famer Jose Aldo Is Feeling Better Than Ever, And Says He’s Got His Sights Set On The UFC Bantamweight Title
UFC 315 will see Jose Aldo make the walk to compete in his 42nd professional MMA fight as the former undisputed UFC featherweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer continues his evergreen career on the sport’s biggest stage.
Aldo is in his 21st year as a professional MMA fighter and, after already conquering the world at featherweight, he’s looking to give his stellar career an Indian summer by capturing championship gold at bantamweight.
With 22 Octagon appearances under his belt, Aldo has been part of the furniture in the UFC, and it’s gotten to the point where he’s facing fighters whose careers only got started while the Brazilian was already on top of the world.
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Case in point: Aldo’s opponent on Saturday, Aiemann Zahabi, may only be a year younger than him, but the Canadian made his professional MMA debut the same year we saw Aldo dive into the Rio crowd to celebrate his knockout of Chad Mendes at UFC 142 – in his third UFC featherweight title defense.
“Yeah, it’s funny,” said Aldo.
“Sometimes I'm hanging around, doing interviews, then a young guy says, 'Man, I'm your fan. I used to watch you fight as a kid.' And I think, 'Wow, I'm getting old, huh?'
“It's really funny. But that's part of the journey. It's not the first time I’m facingsomeone who was just starting when I was already a champion. That's part of the job.”
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It may be part of the job, but for a fighter who has been there, seen it, done it, and has the championship belts to prove it, surely the motivation must start to wane as he prepares to defend spot at number 11 in the official UFC bantamweight rankings against Zahabi, who is listed 15th.
Nope. Not at all, he insisted.
“I believe motivation is always sky-high,” he said.
“I train hard for this. I love doing this and being in the UFC. It's always been my dream to be UFC champion and fight here. I’m talking way back, when I was starting out, I dreamed of being part of the UFC roster, and achieving all I've achieved.
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“I’m very happy with my journey and everything I strived for. Now I'm facing this new guy. I'm already at a certain age, and I'll face someone who's just started. And, believe it or not, we're pretty much the same age.
“I don't see much difference, but the excitement I have inside me and my desire to become a champion are much greater than anything else. So, I'm happy about it.
“I’ll always be very happy here, doing everything we have to do before the fight, and then fighting. I know the fans will go wild and cheer, and that's what motivates me and makes me happy. I get in there and always give my best.”
Aldo’s motivation is further sharpened by what happened in his last Octagon appearance, where he found himself on the wrong end of a split-decision verdict against Mario Bautista at UFC 307 last October.
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“I’m sorry about my language, I was so pissed about my performance,” he admitted.
“I can't go in there, after everything I've done, and freeze up in the fight. The guy had nothing for me. No disrespect to my opponent, but I can't do that. This is not what the UFC and the fans expect from me.
José Aldo Fight Week Interview | UFC 315
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José Aldo Fight Week Interview | UFC 315
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“It doesn't matter if I win or lose, I have to get in there and fight. I have to give it my all, like I always did. And I've always done it very well. So, I was very sad about that.
“For this fight, I tried to change my mindset and not care about any opponent anymore … I just want to do my best. I don't pick my opponents. I get paid for this. I just have to fight. It doesn't matter if my opponent has a lot of hype or no hype. I must get in there and fight.”
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And, while Aldo is treating each of his opponents with due respect, he also says that the experience he’s gathered in his 20-year career means that no fight can offer him anything he hasn’t already seen and dealt with before. The onus, he said, is on him to show up and deliver, and for his opponents to try to keep up.
“Everyone knows who I am. They all study me. They lose sleep knowing they’llface me. They know I have power,” he said.
“With everything that I've got, why should I worry about my opponent, after everything I went through and after facing so many opponents?
“I put that aside, leaving that for Dedé [Pederneiras, his head coach at Nova Uniaogym], the coaches, and the rest of the team. They analyze what he does best. I have to go in there and do as I train at the gym – that is, kick some ass.”
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At 38 years of age, and with 42 fights to his Hall of Fame career, Aldo clearly thinks there’s still plenty left in the tank, and ahead of UFC 315 this weekend, says that from a skill and nutrition standpoint, he has never been better. And while his 2020 tilt at the bantamweight title ended in defeat to Petr Yan at UFC 251, he insists he still has what it takes to reach the UFC’s bantamweight summit.
“Well, it's funny. A little while ago I said it's like wine, it gets better with age,” he said.
“My skills are improving. My speed, explosiveness, and all that. I believe my experience has shaped me throughout life. I have good nutrition. I feed my body with good fuel, so I can perform even better. This has made a huge difference inthis moment of my career.
“Athletes my age are usually decaying. They get fatter, move up and down weight classes, put on boring fights. I’m not here for that.
“I want to be a champion. I can do this. I have a healthy body and good conditioning. Thank God, now I have financial stability and I can buy better food to eat healthy and keep growing. That's what I can do now, what I wanted to do. That's what makes me the guy I am today.
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“You've never seen me fat and out of shape. I've always been in shape and training hard. That's what I love and choose to do. I give it my body and soul.
“In the future, when I retire, I know I won't miss all this. I'll miss the people I love, like everyone here. I'll miss the UFC team, Dana, and everyone in general. But I won't miss fighting, because since I started out at 16, since my very first fights, I've always given it my all, body and soul.
“I’m very happy about my journey. But I think this is a major change I made. I eat very healthy. It's like fueling a jet. I’m flying high now.“
UFC 315: Muhammad vs Della Maddalena, live from Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec, Canada on May 10, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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