Jose Aldo’s Walkout Song Featuring Rihanna & Jay Z: Which Song Does the UFC Legend Use as His Entrance Music?

Jose Aldo‘s upcoming return to the UFC has divided fans. The former featherweight champion, who has been a fixture of the promotion for nearly two decades, is coming back after over a year of retirement. Aiming to break into the bantamweight rankings, the Brazilian will make his 21st appearance in the UFC octagon this weekend, which is likely to be among his last few, with even speculation that the 37-year-old may finally call it quits in his native Brazil this weekend itself.

Aldo will co-headline the UFC 301 card in Rio de Janeiro in his native Brazil opposite Jonathan Martinez. Just as Aldo has been a fixture of the UFC’s featherweight and bantamweight divisions, one particular song has been a fixture of nearly all of Aldo’s walk-outs.

Jose Aldo’s famous walkout song featuring Rihanna and Jay Z

For almost the entirety of his stint in the UFC, the Brazilian has walked out to the 2009 pop hit ‘Run This Town’ by Jay Z featuring Rihanna and Kanye West. During his career, Aldo has been relentless. Having fought three generations of fighters, Aldo has shown that he can still compete with the top guys in the division despite the miles he has on his body. Even as his career declined following his momentous 13-second knockout loss to ‘Mystic Mac’, he has been a gatekeeper to the top echelons of the featherweight and bantamweight divisions for up-and-coming fighters, who would go on to become future champions.

Jose Aldo was determined to be a martial at any cost since he was a teenager. The former featherweight champion, moved from his small hometown to the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro, despite having no money and with only his clothes, at 17. He turned professional the same year.

He made a name for himself in the local Brazilian MMA circuit before he was signed to the WEC in 2008, where he went on to become the featherweight champion. When it was acquired by the UFC a few years later, the 37-year-old found himself in the UFC starting in 2010. There, he went on to become among the greatest ever to grace the UFC octagon and is remembered for his legendary seven consecutive featherweight title defenses until his fateful UFC 194 clash against Conor McGregor.

Though Aldo is synonymous with ‘Run This Town’, there was one instance wherein he walked in with another song.

Has Aldo walked out to any other song in his UFC career?

After losing his title at UFC 194, Aldo bounced back strongly, re-capturing his featherweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Frankie Edgar on the UFC 200 anniversary mega-card. Many expected Aldo, one of the greats, to get back on track and resume right where he left off before the unfortunate loss to the bombastic Irishman.

But, alas, that was not to be. He ran into another historical great (and the man who would be considered the greatest featherweight after Aldo) in Max Holloway in his very next fight at UFC 212, which he lost. The two went into an immediate rematch, given the shocking result of their first bout, but the rematch went the way of their first clash, ending with a third-round ground-and-pound finish by ‘Blessed’, just like their first bout.

However, what was notable in their bout was that Aldo, uncharacteristically, walked out to the Spanish hit ‘Somos Gente De Zambada’ by Mexican artists Lenin Ramirez and Regulo Cabo, for his UFC 218 rematch with Max Holloway. As we have mentioned, except for this aberration, he has been remarkably consistent in his choice of walk-out songs and is expected to walk out to ‘Run This Town’ at UFC 301, too.