Let me be clear off the bat: I’m fairly completely happy that Jose Aldo is again in motion at UFC 301 this weekend (Sat., Might 4, 2024) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Brazilian Corridor of Famer didn’t go away on the absolute peak of his sport, however that’s as a result of his peak is totally unreachable for mere mortals. No, even at 35 years outdated in a younger man’s division, Aldo walked away from his UFC profession after barely dropping to Merab Dvalishvili in a title eliminator match up. Previous to that, Aldo had crushed up three ranked fighters in a row, constructing a greater case for a title shot than T.J. Dillashaw and his imploding shoulder.
In my expertise, there’s a direct correlation between how lengthy any individual has been a fan of the game and the way a lot respect they’ve for Jose Aldo. Lengthy-time followers — those that keep in mind the blue World Excessive Cagefighting (WEC) cage — maintain Aldo on a pedestal. He’s the G.O.A.T. … or no less than the clear-cut alternative for finest Featherweight of all time. To observe Aldo’s total profession is to look at an unbelievable athlete cube by way of quite a few high contenders in numerous kinds and fashions. Aldo reinvented himself three or 4 occasions, and every reinvention was higher than virtually everybody else.
Newer followers don’t have that perspective.
Some see his losses to Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski (respectively 13 and 15 years into his skilled profession) as disqualifications from greatness. Others solely see the Conor McGregor knockout loss and are in all probability bored with listening to about how nice his low kicks was.
Now, Aldo is again within the cage at 135 kilos, a profession transfer that originally appeared like a demise sentence but landed Aldo a title shot and High 5 place in arguably the deepest division in combined martial arts (MMA). After two years away, the place does Aldo land within the division, and what are his general targets in returning to motion?
Jonathan Martinez is a tough process for any Bantamweight.
He’s gained eight of his final 9 and hasn’t misplaced in additional than three years. The truth that he’s not High 10 is indicative of the division’s depth, however there are actually doable Aldo opponents ranked extra extremely that appear to be simpler fights (like No. 8-ranked Rob Font). It’s not as traditional a match up as “Aldo vs. Cruz,” but it surely’s a litmus check of whether or not Aldo remains to be an elite Bantamweight, as a result of that’s what it takes to beat “The Dragon” at this stage of the sport.
Assuming Aldo does defeat Martinez, nonetheless, what’s left for him to perform at Bantamweight? There are two paths ahead: chasing the title or legacy match ups. The previous sounds unlikely. Sean O’Malley is a brutal fashion match up for Aldo — too quick, athletic and high-volume. Or, Dvalishvili may very well be champion by the tip of the yr, and no person is clamoring for that rematch.
The opposite path sounds much more enjoyable.
If Aldo is actually again and needs to rack up paychecks with out committing to the title run, let’s get him within the cage with identify opponents. The Dominick Cruz battle is evergreen, however I additionally would discover a match up towards former champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, wildly attention-grabbing, too.
What occurs if Aldo loses although? For the primary time since like 2008, Aldo can be combating and never thought-about High 10 on this planet. The Cruz battle may nonetheless occur — EVERGREEN — but it surely’s tough to think about Aldo desirous to proceed combating if he’s not doing so at a remarkably excessive stage.
Possibly this return is a one-off or perhaps it’s the beginning of the subsequent iteration of Aldo. A method or one other, UFC 301 ought to provide some perception into the legend’s future.
Do not forget that MMAmania.com will ship LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow protection of all the UFC 301 battle card proper right here, beginning with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches on-line, that are scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET), earlier than the pay-per-view (PPV) principal card begin time at 10 p.m. ET (additionally on ESPN+).
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