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Jose Aldo is among the greatest Brazilian mixed martial artists to grace the UFC octagon, and it's no secret that the former featherweight champion is immensely proud of his homeland.
A native of Manaus, Amazonas, Aldo is a proud Portuguese speaker and prefers to communicate in his native language as much as possible. Throughout his professional journey, Aldo has stuck to Portuguese and notably used a translator to communicate before and after his fights in the UFC.
Given that 'Junior' must travel to the U.S. frequently for training or competing, it's no surprise that he has studied English to some extent. However, Aldo once explained that he doesn't require a deeper understanding of the English language since he isn't planning on moving away from Brazil in the future.
During an interview with Ariel Helwani in 2022, Aldo was asked if he planned to get better at English like some other Brazilian UFC stars. Aldo dismissed the idea and said:
"First of all, those particular fighters live in the U.S. and they all wanted to live in the U.S. When they started learning English, there was a secondary objective there, which was to establish their family and lives in the United States. That's an objective I've never shared. I would never leave Brazil... I'm very patriotic about Brazil, my country, and that includes my language."
He continued:
"In professional terms, I prefer Portuguese. Portuguese is the language of my heart, it's the language of my feelings. It's the language that I feel I can express myself best in."
After a brief period of retirement, Aldo is now set to make his promotional return against Jonathan Martinez in a bantamweight contest at UFC 301 next month.
Jose Aldo shares an update on future fighting plans after UFC 301
Jose Aldo recently opened up about his next outing in the UFC octagon and confirmed that his next fight will be his last in the promotion, per his current contract. As mentioned above, Aldo declared his retirement from the sport after losing to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278 in August 2022.
Less than two years later, the Brazilian MMA icon is ready to fight his last contractual bout against Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301. During a recent conversation with MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn, Aldo made it clear that he wants to keep his options open after his next fight.
Without ruling out a return to the UFC and signing a new contract, he said:
"I think I needed a break for my mind and my body... That’s basically what I told the UFC a couple months ago: I want to do this fight, see where I’m at, see how I do, see how I perform, and then I can make a decision. I’m looking at maybe a big boxing fight, maybe somewhere down the line later this year."
