Jose Aldo’s Tattoos: Meaning and Story Behind the UFC Legend’s Inks

Jose Aldo has more than a few weapons to intimidate his opponents inside the cage. The masterpiece on his shoulder does the job of introducing his opponents to the fearsome Brazilian. Needless to say, many other fighters have sought out help from their tattoos to strike fear in their rivals’ hearts. But with Aldo, just two pieces of body ink were more than enough.

And how can we forget ‘Junior’s success in the MMA cage? Because of his incredible MMA record, many people often consider ‘The King of Rio’ to be the greatest Featherweight fighter in the world. The former 2-time UFC featherweight champion was also the fourth and final WEC Featherweight champion. But we’ll keep his professional career on the side right now and take a look at the meanings behind the tattoos of the former two-time UFC champion.

What is the meaning of Jose Aldo’s shoulder tattoo?

Whenever one sees Jose Aldo, the thing that first catches their eye is the tattoo that the fighter has on his left shoulder. Many people have various tattoos inked on their body and most of them mean something to the individual. The tattoo that Aldo has on his shoulder is pretty interesting. ‘Junior’ has a cross cum tombstone along with multiple skulls inked on its base.

Jose Aldo once talked about what the tattoo means. He said that the skulls represent the enemies he has beaten in his fights. The legend claimed that he keeps adding a new skull whenever he beats an opponent. At the bottom of the tattoo, there are some words written inside a banner. Those words are actually ‘Junior’s name written in Japanese letters. Therefore, it is clear that the tattoo means a lot to Aldo and is something very personal to him. Now, let’s move over and uncover the meaning of the tattoo on the former champion’s sleeve.

UFC Legend’s new sleeve tattoo

Jose Aldo highly values family life and has always depicted his deep attachment to it. It is for this reason that the former featherweight champion who is a Hall of Famer decided to have himself inked again in 2022 as a way of showing much love to his family. This tattooed body art news was shared by Aldo in an Instagram post he made.

The tattoo, which was in black and white, wasn’t finished when ‘Junior’ shared the image on his socials. Regardless, Jose Aldo cleared it out that this tattoo represented his family, which had a pride of lions. In his Instagram post, he wrote, “We started the tattoo on the family side, we still have to close the inside of the arm. Thank @rodrigoborgestatto it was great brother!” Meanwhile, the Brazilian legend inked his arm yet again in 2023 with a full-sleeve etching featuring a wolf and an eagle. The artwork was done by famous artist Renan de Oliveira also known who has inked other famous fighters in the past. These animals in particular are known to be symbols of strength, freedom, and loyalty. Interestingly, the Brazilian legend also had a tattoo that mysteriously faded away.

Mysterious tale of Jose Aldo’s disappearing tattoo

When Jose Aldo faced Marlon Vera at the UFC Fight Night 183, Aldo had a new tattoo on his chest. Aldo was coming into the fight on the back of three successive losses and needed to win the fight desperately. However, the focus was still on the new ink Aldo had on his chest and how it disappeared after the fight.

‘Junior’ did not have that tattoo when he stepped up for the weigh-ins ahead of his fight with Vera. However, before the start of the fight, Aldo was seen sporting the new ink. What confused people was that the tattoo almost disappeared by the end of the fight.

After the fight, Aldo was quizzed about the same. He said, “The truth, I didn’t know if I needed permission because it’s the Navy Seals. I put it there in the hotel before I came here, and I warmed up for three hours without a shirt… Nobody told me anything. I don’t think it’s a problem because it doesn’t have any sponsor information. If I caused any problems, I apologize.” – The tattoo was a way of Aldo honoring the Brazilian Navy Seals during his fight.

Now, ‘Scarface’ has one more chance at flaunting the inks on his body as he gets ready to fight Mario Bautista at UFC 307. Would you consider Aldo’s facial scar as another ‘tattoo’ that he can deploy to intimidate his opponents? Let us know what you think of the Brazilian’s tattoos in the comments down below.