Jose Aldo will return to the Octagon for the first time since August 2022 at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro.
On Saturday, Sao Paolo-based fight news agency Ag.Fight announced that the former featherweight champion will take on Jonathan Martinez in the promotion’s return to Brazil on May 4.
Aldo’s last fight came in a decision loss to the No 1 ranked bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278. In July 2023, Aldo and fellow Brazilian legend Anderson Silva were inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
The King of Rio’s career was highlighted by his 18-fight win streak from 2006 to 2015 when he lost to Conor McGregor. The 13-second knockout launched the Irishman into becoming the sport’s biggest star.
Despite the loss, Aldo regained featherweight kingship one fight later by defeating Frankie Edgar at UFC 200.
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UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo will return to the Octagon at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Aldo will fight No 14 bantamweight Jonathan Martinez, who is on a six-fight win streak
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Jose Aldo went on an 18-fight win streak from 2006 to 2018 before losing to Conor McGregor
He lost twice to Max Holloway, got back-to-back wins over Jeremy Stephens and Renato Moicano, and lost to Alexander Volkanovski before leaving the 145-lb division.
As a bantamweight, Aldo is 3-3 with wins over Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, Pedro Munhoz, and Rob Font. On the other hand, his losses came against Marlon Moraes, former champion Petr Yan, and Dvalishvili.
Aldo holds a 31-8 record with 17 knockouts and a submission ahead of his return to the Octagon.
He will face Martinez, who is ranked 14th in the bantamweight division. The southpaw is 19-4 in his career with nine knockouts. He is also coming off a six-fight win streak.
On Friday, the UFC announced that Brazilian flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will make his second title defense at UFC 301 against No 10 Steve Erceg. Pantoja is 27-5, coming off five straight wins.
