In 2017, Sherdog Jose Aldo announced that he was the greatest featherweight the world of mixed martial arts has ever seen. A look at his fighting portfolio, his awards and victories make it almost impossible to contradict this claim. Aldo, who is known for his Muay Thai punching and defensive ring tactics, placed himself at a very important juncture in MMA history when the UFC/WEC merger made him the last WEC featherweight champion and the first UFC featherweight champion at the same time.
He has also won the UFC featherweight title three times, one of which was in an interim capacity. Jose Aldo was regularly in the top 10 of various UFC fighter rankings. In 2015, he achieved the top spot as the UFC’s best pound-for-pound fighter. He once had a memorable series of 18 undefeated fights from November 2005 to December 2015 and the Sherdog Fighter of the Year 2009 holds the record for the most victories and knockout victories in the history of the UFC and WEC Featherweight.
Jose Aldo Bio
José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Junior was born in Manaus, Brazil, on September 9, 1986, and grew up with the knowledge of need on a very personal level. The scar on the left side of his face is from an accident he suffered as an infant. He slipped through the hands of his older sister and fell with his face on a grill, leaving a permanent scar.
As he grew up in Brazil, it is not surprising that Jose’s first and only love was football. He wanted to make it as a professional footballer, but life seemed to have other plans. As a child, he was bullied so much that he finally got fed up and decided to learn to defend himself. Aldo started training to learn the local Capoeira fighting style. However, his focus shifted to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after he had completed a training session with a Jiu-Jitsu expert. When he was 17 years old, with nothing but the clothes on his back and the determination to make something of himself in the mixed martial arts, he moved to Rio de Janeiro. Here he trained in Nova União with UFC star Renan Barão.
Jose Aldo Career
He was still 17 years old when he made his MMA professional debut on 10 August 2004 against newcomer and Brazilian colleague Mario Bigola. He knocked Mario out with a headbutt 18 seconds after the start of the first round, winning the fight and ending Mario’s professional career.
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In his second match, the fight had to be stopped by a doctor after Jose Hudson defeated Rocha with a flying knee and a flood of blood hits. Five months later, in his third fight, he forced Luiz de Paula to retire after less than two minutes in the first round.
Throughout 2005, he fought for various organizations and achieved brutal victories against opponents such as Aritano Barbosa, Anderson Silverio, and the English Micky Young. He suffered his first professional defeat against the experienced Luciano Azevedo. It was also his longest flight so far, as the fighters faced the skills of the others and used different tactics and tricks to outdo each other. Finally, Luciano won the match with a choke from behind naked.
However, this setback led to Jose Aldo falling back with a winning streak that lasted for decades. On 20 May 2006, he had a difficult fight with Thiago Meller, who was undefeated at the time. After three grueling rounds, Jose Thiago gave his first professional defeat. He then defeated Shoji Maruyama in the final of the 2007 Pancrase Neoblood Tournament, which he won unanimously. This was his last fight before he was promoted to World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC).
Aldo’s WEC debut took place on 1 June 2008 against Alexandre Franca Nogueira at WEC 34. It was his first promotion win. A year later, at WEC 41, he knocked down Cub Swanson with double flying knees. The fight lasted only 8 seconds.
Jose won his first title against Mike Brown in November 2009 when he won the WEC Featherweight Championship at WEC 44. Based on his performance, he was named Fighter of the Year 2009 by Sherdog and MMA Live. His first WEC decisive victory came on April 24th, 2010, when he absolutely decimated former champion, Urijah Faber, in five rounds. A week later he successfully defended his featherweight title when he knocked out Manvel Gamburyan in the second minute of the second round.
In October 2010 the WEC merged with the UFC. This meant that all fighters who were under the WEC promotion were transferred to the UFC squad. Jose Aldo, who was WEC champion at that time, was named the first UFC featherweight champion. He was awarded the title belt on November 20, 2010. After missing his first scheduled title defense against Josh Grispi due to a neck injury, he returned to defend it successfully against Mark Hominick on April 30, 2011.
He continued to beat every opponent who challenged him for the title. By February 2, 2013, he had defeated Kenny Florian by unanimous decision, Chad Mendes by a first-round knockout, and Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision. With this, he set the record as the fighter with the most championship fights.
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After a series of injuries, successful title defenses, and his third Fight of the Night bonus award, Jose Aldo’s winning streak came to an end on 12 December 2015 when he faced Conor McGregor. The fight lasted only 13 seconds, with Conor McGregor knocking him out and taking his title. This was his first defeat in over ten years.
McGregor never defended the title and this forced the rebounding champion to give the title back to Aldo after McGregor became UFC Lightweight Champion on 26 November. On June 3, 2017, Jose Aldo recorded his third defeat in a fight against interim featherweight champion Max Holloway. However, the fight earned him his fourth Fight of the Night bonus award in his career.
By June 28, 2018, the Brazilian-born fighter had lost only one more fight, a rematch against Max Holloway. This was his fourth defeat in 30 fights of his career.
Jose Aldo’s Wife and Family
The wife of Jose Aldo has spent most of his professional career with him. Vivianne Perreira can always be seen at the ring when Jose meets an opponent. Given Jose Aldo’s recent failures in this sport, he says that his wife Vivianne remains his biggest supporter.
The couple married in 2005 and have a daughter, Joanna, who they will give birth to sometime in 2012.
Height, Weight, and Body Measurements
According to recent records, Jose Aldo weighs 66 kg (145 lbs) and stands at a height of 1.70 m (5 feet 7 inches). In addition, his arms span a length that gives him a reach of 70 inches (1.78 m). Jose has a chest size of 40 inches, a waist size of 30 inches, and a biceps of 15.5 inches.