Jose Aldo is retiring from MMA. The 36-year-old was granted his release from his UFC contract with his coach, Andres Pederneiras, believing it to be the end of his great career.
With a tweet on Sunday afternoon, the UFC appeared to confirm Aldo’s retirement from MMA. ESPN and Brazilian news outlet Combate broke the story first. Aldo has yet to issue a remark on the topic, but he did post a picture of him and his wife enjoying the birth of their child on social media.
Aldo was removed from the fighter rankings on Sunday, indicating that he is no longer on the active roster.
When he debuted with the WEC in 2008, the “King of Rio” enjoyed one of the best runs in MMA history. He won 15 straight fights, including a featherweight title run that continued after the WEC was absorbed into the UFC. Cub Swanson, Mike Brown, Urijah Faber, Mark Hominick, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes (twice), Frankie Edgar, and the “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung were all defeated during that stretch.
Aldo rebounded from a dramatic 13-second knockout defeat to Conor McGregor in 2015 to win the interim featherweight title with a second win against Edgar. Following that, he suffered two TKO losses against Max Holloway.
Aldo made an unexpected switch down to bantamweight in 2019, where he struggled at first but went on to win three straight over Marlon Vera, Pedro Munhoz, and Rob Font.
His final fight was in August, when he was defeated by Merab Dvalishvili through decision.