Ahead of his UFC 307 clash against Mario Bautista, Jose Aldo has found himself at the center of an unexpected controversy. What is it? This time, it’s not his fight skills that are under scrutiny, it’s his age! Aldo, a legend of the game, had retired from MMA in 2022 but still had one fight remaining on his UFC contract.

He came back to face Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301 earlier this year where he snapped the young star’s 6-fight win streak. As he gears up to face another hungry up-and-comer in Bautista, Renato Moicano and Gilbert Burns have fanned the flames of a debate about the ‘King of Rio’s age and alleged that he might be actually older than the UFC and fans realize!

Jose Aldo’s real age questioned by Gilbert Burns ahead of UFC 307 clash 

It all started on the ‘Show Me The Money Podcast’ where Renato Moicano laid out his predictions for UFC 307. Talking about Jose Aldo, Moicano stated, “One thing is for sure, my brother. There is somebody that is not losing on this card, and he’s the underdog. Jose Aldo is not losing to Mario Bautista, not even in a million years, brother.”

According to the odds by DraftKings Sportsbook, Aldo is coming into the fight at +124 with Bautista as the favorite at -148. But are the odds makers making a mistake? Gilbert Burns pointed out, “How come he’s an underdog?”, referring to Aldo’s chances of success. But this is where things took an interesting turn!

Burns further stated, “If you saw he just turned 38 not long ago, I’m 38, but I remember we were both… I was 18 years old in Brazil, I was a blue belt. And Jose Aldo was kinda, like, 19 to 20 when he moved to Rio, and he was purple belt. Now I’m older than him. I remember when we were blue belt, I was I was 1 or 2 years younger than him. Now I’m older than him. I don’t know what happened, but I’m older than Jose Aldo, I don’t know.”

According to various sources online, including Tapology, Aldo’s date of birth is listed as 1986, the same year as Gilbert Burns! So what’s happening here? In the caption for the clip on X, it was explained, “Aldo probably didn’t have his birth documents and gave the UFC a younger age because it wasn’t too uncommon to have a non-documented birth in Rio back then.”

Could Jose Aldo be one of those cases? It remains to be seen. But while the debate over Aldo’s age might raise some eyebrows, does it matter if he’s 38 or 40? The man’s legacy is carved in stone and despite the talk about his age, he’s still raring to have a go at the elite fighters in his division!

Aldo is looking to square off against the ‘Suga Show’

As ‘The King of Rio’ gears up for another young challenger on his journey through the bantamweight division, Jose Aldo has his sights set on an even bigger prize – Sean O’Malley. In a recent conversation with ESPN ahead of UFC 307, Aldo admitted that he’d been looking for a “bigger name” for his upcoming fight. Yet he humbly accepted the fight with Bautista, knowing he had a job to do.

But when asked about his thoughts on the prospect of facing Sean O’Malley, the former champion was game. O’Malley, despite undergoing surgery after losing the bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306, still carries significant weight in the division. As such, Aldo stated, “I think this is a fight, the two of us, myself and Sean, two people that carry weight, there is a cache to what we do. I think it would be two great names in the division and it would be a great fight. Obviously, I would accept it.”

The Brazilian’s willingness to face ‘Suga’ hints at a potential showdown that fans would love. Both fighters bring something unique to the table, and Aldo seems more than ready to make it happen. But there’s still Mario Bautista to take care of at UFC 307. Do you think Jose Aldo will come out on top and make his way to the top of the bantamweight division after UFC 307? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!