Former featherweight champ Jose Aldo is set to take a stab at bantamweight, with a bout lined up against Marlon Moraes at UFC 245.
The UFC’s year-end spectacle, coming a little early this year (it’s not even the last card of 2019), continues to grow. In addition to three title fights and an appearance from Urijah Faber, Jose Aldo looks set to join the UFC 245 card, against Marlon Moraes.
When he does so, Aldo (28–5) will be dropping to bantamweight for the first time in his UFC tenure. The move comes after the former featherweight great was defeated twice by current featherweight champion Max Holloway. Having bounced back with wins over Jeremy Stephens and Renato Moicano, Aldo again suffered a setback against Alexander Volkanovski, who will be facing Holloway at UFC 245.
The latest setback appears to have necessitated a drop to 135lbs. It’s a move that goes against the trend, with a number of fighters moving up in weight of late. Aldo, however, has never missed weight, though he has had some rough cuts in the past, weighing in with a towel at times to make the featherweight limit.
Marlon Moraes will be returning from a title fight against Henry Cejudo when he welcomes Aldo to the division at UFC 245. Moraes (22–6–1), a former World Series of Fighting bantamweight champ, lost that fight via TKO in the third round back in June at UFC 238. Cejudo became a cringe-worthy double champ that night, while Moraes was dealt his first loss in two years.
Prior to the Cejudo fight, Moraes had picked up wins over Raphael Assunção, Jimmie Rivera, Aljamain Sterling, and John Dodson, with three finishes among them.
UFC 245 takes place December 14, 2019 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Title fights featuring Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington, Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski, and Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie top the bill.
