Featherweight legend Jose Aldo will join the UFC Hall of Fame later this year.
Aldo’s induction into the Hall was announced during Saturday’s UFC 283 broadcast. The Brazilian retired last year, finishing off a lengthy career at bantamweight after hitting the pinnacle of the sport as the WEC and later UFC featherweight champion.
Aldo will be inducted into the Modern Wing of the Hall this July, during International Fight Week.
“Jose Aldo is the greatest featherweight of all time,” UFC President Dana White said in a press release distributed following the announcement. “From WEC to UFC, Jose helped us build the sport of MMA and UFC as a brand, as well as change the perception of the smaller weight classes and what they could accomplish inside the Octagon. It will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”
Aldo won the WEC featherweight championship in 2009, at a time during which the UFC did not feature the weight class. After defending the title twice, the UFC absorbed the WEC roster; Aldo’s title was re-branded as the UFC featherweight championship, and he did not look back.
Seven successful title defenses followed, starting in 2011 in Toronto, Canada at UFC 129 against Mark Hominick. Aldo would not taste defeat until he ran into the skyrocketing Conor McGregor in 2016, where he was knocked out in just 13 seconds.
The road back began almost immediately. Aldo would win an interim title against Frankie Edgar at UFC 200; when McGregor was stripped of his belt for inactivity while pursuing a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, “Scarface” was promoted to undisputed champ.
He would lose that title to Max Holloway, then suffer defeat again in the rematch. But Aldo wasn’t done chasing titles. A move to bantamweight saw him face Petr Yan for the 135lb title in 2020; Aldo would come up short, then win his next three fights before losing a decision to Merab Dvalishvili last August.
Aldo later announced his retirement from the sport. Finishing his MMA career with a record of 31-8, Aldo isn’t done with combat sports just yet. He’ll make his boxing debut next month in Brazil.
