Jose Aldo hasn't made any promises for UFC 301.
This Saturday, Aldo will face Jonathan Martinez in the co-main event in Rio de Janeiro. Aldo retired after losing to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278 and has not competed in MMA since 2022. When he first decided he was interested in coming back, it wasn't to come back to fight in Rio. Aldo just wanted to get back in the game, and then things fell into place.
“When I started talking to my husband, [White] and sean [Shelby] There was no plan, no name, no opponent for my return to Rio,” Aldo said through an interpreter at UFC 301 media day. “Initially, the name we were talking about was Dominick Cruz. We were going to fight Dominick Cruz, but he had some issues in camp, so we acquired Jonathan Martinez. , it ended up being held in Rio, so it was a coincidence.”
When the fight was announced, it was a bit of a shock that Aldo would be returning to fight Martinez. Martinez is currently ranked 12th in the UFC bantamweight rankings and is on an impressive six-fight win streak, but fans have been wondering how long it has been since Aldo and Cruz were WEC featherweight and bantamweight champions. For a while, I was imagining a match between Aldo and Cruz. UFC, and when Aldo dropped to bantamweight. But while fans may be looking forward to that matchup, Aldo said it's not a matchup he's particularly interested in.
“I think the fans were waiting to see that game,” Aldo said. “We have two former champions from the WEC era, two former UFC champions, and he's not the one I asked for. I wanted someone in the top five. That's what I specifically asked the UFC about. Dominic is coming off a losing streak and Jonathan Martinez is on a winning streak.
Of course, he could play against Cruz after Saturday, but it's not guaranteed. This is the final fight on Aldo's current UFC contract, meaning he will become a free agent on Sunday. Aldo has said he has no intention of leaving the UFC, but he also hasn't closed off other possibilities as to what he'll do next.
Saturday will be about finding out where he stands in MMA and then a decision will be made.
“When I started talking to Dana, they wanted to sign me to a new contract, but I really wanted to make this fight. That's what I'm focused on right now. Once we make sure that's the case, we can go from there.'' Aldo said. “When I stopped fighting, when I retired, there were a lot of offers, a lot of money, but it was never just that. That's what we're doing now. Look where I'm at. Sho.”
