José Aldo returned from retirement to be the co-main-event of UFC 301, which took place on Saturday (4) in Rio de Janeiro. The former champion of the organization beat American Jonathan Martinez by unanimous decision.
Read more:
PANTOJA BEATS ERCEG AND KEEPS HIS BELT
At a press conference after the fight, Aldo spoke about his return to the octagon for Ultimate after almost two years in his hometown. The carioca didn’t hide his happiness when he commented on the affection he received.
“I’m very happy to receive this kindness. I already knew the arena would be packed, so I just had to get there and do my job. Very happy to feel my music again, the crowd singing and vibrating, that’s great,” said the fighter.
In the last bout of his contract with the organization, the athlete beat the number 12 ranked bantamweight and was asked about the possibility of competing for the belt, which currently belongs to American Sean O’Malley. The ‘King of Rio’ was excited about the idea and said that “it would be great”.
“Yeah, Dedé (Pederneiras) always says: ‘with the name you have, you can always skip the queue’. Especially because, when I left, I was very well ranked. I’m happy to be part of this card, it just happened to be here in Rio. It would be great if we could make it. But that’s it, now it’s time to rest again and train hard because new challenges will come,” he said.
???? Skip the line for the bantamweight title? José Aldo, who beat the number 12 ranked player, said that the possibility excites him: “It would be great!”#UFCBR | #UFC301 | @josealdojunior pic.twitter.com/zLKzF2Ly7P
– FutbooBR ???????? (@FutbooBR) May 5, 2024