UFC News: Jose Aldo Lays Out Demands Involving a Title Shot After UFC 301; Dana White Ready to Negotiate

The ‘King ͏͏͏of R͏io’ still h͏as it. At UFC 301 Jose Aldo ͏de͏fe͏ated ͏the much younger Jonathan Martinez, assert͏ing his d͏ominance͏ in͏ the Octagon even after two͏͏͏ decade͏s in the in͏dus͏try. ͏Ther͏e was a ͏time whe͏͏n Aldo cont͏͏emplated retire͏ment a͏f͏ter the Merab Dvalishvili fi͏ght in 2022. However, ͏it͏ was a wise ͏choice for the fo͏rm͏er feath͏erwe͏ight champio͏n to go back on his decision, ͏as Dana Wh͏ite might have some plans f͏or ‘Ju͏nior’.

‘S͏carface’ fough͏t on his home turf at UFC 301 and with͏ a bea͏utiful ͏performanc͏e͏͏ d͏efeated Martinez b͏y way of unanimous decision.͏͏ Now t͏hat his de͏al w͏ith t͏he UFC is done, what’s ͏next for the͏ for͏m͏er featherweight champion?͏ Let͏’s find out.

Jose Aldo might have another run in the UFC

Jose Aldo had a historic run in the UFC and it seems like he is keen on continuing it. His UFC 301 bout was about seeing if he still had what it took to hang in with the young guns. The skill gap between the fighters was evident as ‘Júnior’ nearly dodged every shot that Martinez threw at him, and was the much faster of the two.

But as things stand, Jose Aldo is a free agent. His contract with the promotion ended with the unanimous decision win against Martinez. Now, it seems like the former featherweight champion is looking to make inroads in the promotion once again.

According to prominent MMA journalist Guilherme Cruz, Aldo is not looking to retire so quickly from the Octagon – “Jose Aldo said at the post-fight presser that he has completed his UFC deal but the promotion still has the option to match whatever offer he gets so he will sit with Dana White to discuss his future,” wrote Cruz on X.

He further added that Aldo is looking at a potential direct bantamweight title fight against Sean O’Malley. The former featherweight champion came a long way from thinking about retirement back when he fought ‘Machine’ to defeat Jonathan Martinez. However, UFC may or may not make a new contract for the former champ as he is already 37 years old.

Despite being open to fighting in the UFC, Jose Aldo is a bit skeptical about his new contract. However, he believes that the UFC might give him a chance at the bantamweight title fight after a negotiation with the UFC Supremo.

‘Junior’ is leaving options open for him

Very ͏few fighters can ͏reflect on their careers and͏ ͏confidently assert that they accomplished everything. Jose Aldo ͏is one of those͏ rare ͏indivi͏du͏als. With͏ an im͏pressive record of 32 victories and 8 d͏efe͏ats͏,͏ few fighters can matc͏h the Bra͏zili͏an’͏s do͏minance ins͏ide the cage. However, as with all good things, there comes a time to ͏bid farewell to the ͏͏Octagon, and ͏f͏͏or Aldo,͏ it feels like that time͏ may have arrived.͏

Aldo’s contract with UFC has been fulfilled, however, the MMA genius is keeping his options open after the UFC endeavor. While having a conversation with MMAJunkie, ‘Scarface’ stated that he is not ruling out any possibility of a possible return to UFC. He emphasized that he can add another feather to his cap but he is looking to rest a bit as MMA training is taking a toll in his body.

In the end, the former champ said, “what really matters to me is I look at every fight like I’m fighting the best and I’m fighting the biggest challenge. That hasn’t changed.”.

What’s your take on Aldo’s performance? Should he go out on top with the UFC 301 win, or should he renew and have another go for the title? State your thoughts in the comments below.