Jose Aldo isn’t done with the UFC quite yet. Aldo will end his two-year mixed martial arts retirement in a homecoming fight at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro on May 4.
Aldo, 37, will take on rising contender Jonathan Martinez, 29, in a bantamweight scrap. The news was first reported by Ag Fight and later confirmed by ESPN. It will be Aldo’s first MMA fight since losing to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 279 in August 2022. The fight snapped a three-fight winning streak Aldo had built over other bantamweight contenders like Marlon Vera and Rob Font.
The inaugural UFC featherweight champion and former WEC featherweight champ retired from MMA in September 2022 following the birth of his son. The UFC permitted Aldo to compete in other combat sports. He boxed three times in 2023 — twice professionally and one exhibition bout — winning two of them and drawing fellow UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens.
Aldo (31-8) is one of three names in rotation as the greatest featherweight in MMA history along with Alexander Volkanvoski and Max Holloway. He’s shared the cage with both Volkanovski and Holloway, as well as Conor McGregor, Frankie Edgar and Urijah Faber. Aldo will compete in his 40th pro MMA fight at UFC 301.
Martinez enters the matchup on a six-fight win streak with victories over the likes of Adrian Yanez, Said Nurmagomedov, Cub Swanson and Vince Morales.