Jose Aldo may not have gone out on top, but if Saturday was indeed the final chapter we’ll see from the former UFC featherweight champion, it was a fitting sendoff for an all-time great.
Aldo announced his retirement Saturday following a thrilling three-round bout against Aiemann Zahabi at UFC 315 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. After a torrid Zahabi comeback in the final minutes, all three judges scored the bout 29-28 in Zahabi’s favor, sending out Aldo on a two-fight losing streak.
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Afterward, Aldo removed his gloves and announced his second retirement from the sport.
“I don’t think I have it in me anymore,” Aldo (32-10) said through a translator. “It wasn’t just about the cutting of the weight and everything else. I just felt there were so many things that happened. It was very tough to go through all of this. There was one point this week — this was a very tough week — that I felt that I didn’t have it in me, I didn’t want to cut it anymore. My body said no, and I just don’t think I have it anymore. I don’t want to go into war all the time and go through this. I just don’t have it in my heart anymore. I think this is the last time you’re going to see me. I just can’t do this anymore.”
Notably, Aldo was unable to make the bantamweight limit Friday, and the bout was switched to a featherweight affair.
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Already a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, Aldo is widely considered one of the greatest — if not the greatest — featherweights to ever lace up a pair of four-ounce gloves. With Saturday’s result, the living legend moved to 1-2 over his three fights since coming back from a short-lived MMA retirement in 2024.
Aldo, 38, looked like his vintage self in the early going of his UFC sendoff. The Brazilian former champion peppered Zahabi (13-2) with wicked combinations and kept his Canadian counterpart on the back foot for the majority of the opening round, standing in the pocket and trading hard shots with reckless abandon. Aldo also ripped Zahabi, 37, to the body early and often, however the pace slowed in the second round as Zahabi settled in and began pressing forward, hunting for his own offense.
The action hit a fever pitch in a chaotic third round as Aldo blasted Zahabi with a stiff right hand and then a knee to the head, followed by a head kick that sent Zahabi spilling to the canvas. Aldo pursued the finish with old-school fury, even rocking Zahabi again with a running kick to the face.
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Zahabi survived, however, and immediately turned the tide back in his favor, leaping onto a suddenly gassed Aldo and barraging him with punches and kicks. After a desperation takedown from Aldo failed, Zahabi spent the final half of the round raining down monster punches and elbows onto Aldo’s skull, splitting him open across his forehead and leaving the UFC Hall of Famer coated in his own blood.
“It feels amazing,” Zahabi said after his win. “I did all the work, I accepted the fight. He was eight pounds overweight, I took it anyway.
“I was rocked, for sure. I was a bit disorientated. But my mindset coach tells me to prepare for these moments, so I just told myself recover and win the next exchange, recover and win the next 15 seconds.”
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Afterward, Zahabi called out one-time title challenger Marlon “Chito” Vera for his next bout.
Zahabi is the younger brother of Firas Zahabi, the head coach of Montreal’s famed Tristar Gym. He now has a six-fight win streak dating to 2021, which includes wins over Pedro Munhoz and Javid Basharat.
Get full UFC 315 results, highlights and play-by-play of the pay-per-view main card here.
