José Aldo announced his retirement for the second time on Saturday night.
The former UFC featherweight champion (32-10 MMA, 14-9 UFC) suffered a controversial unanimous decision loss to Aiemann Zahabi (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) on the main card at UFC 315 in Montreal. During his post-fight interview, Aldo admitted, “I just don’t have it in my heart anymore.”
Aldo originally retired in 2022 in the wake of a defeat against Merab Dvalishvili. He competed in three boxing matches before making his return to the Octagon in May of last year.
Saturday's bout against Zahabi had been originally scheduled to take place at 135 pounds but was changed to a featherweight contest on Friday after complications with Aldo’s weight cut.
Speaking to UFC Brazil backstage shortly after the fight, “The King of Rio” shared more details about the difficulties he faced leading up to the matchup.
“This fight was hard,” Aldo said. “I had a muscle tear on the arm, I had something on the belly that I forgot the name, down there, (from) kicking a lot. I had some problems. A virus infection, a bunch of things. The doctors (said), ‘Get him out of the fight,’ but I didn’t want to because in my head I knew this could be my last fight.”
With the dust now having settled after the loss, Aldo spoke further on his decision via a thread on his X account.
"This may have been my last time inside the Octagon”, the Brazilian tweeted. “This week, I faced one of the biggest battles of my life, and it wasn’t against an opponent, but within myself. Over the past few years, I rekindled the dream of becoming a champion once again. I trained as I always did, gave more than I ever had. But while cutting weight, something inside me said: “You don’t need to do this anymore.” And I listened. It’s time to move forward. To live for my wife, for my kids. To celebrate the story I wrote with every war, every belt earned through blood and faith. Thank you, Dana White and @lorenzofertita. Thank you to the UFC. And most of all — thank you, my fans. You were the fuel behind every walk to the cage. You made me a king. If this was my farewell, know that I leave in peace. With a heart full of gratitude and my head held high. Because I made history. Because I lived my dream. Because, above all, I stayed true to myself."
