Jose Aldo is a former featherweight champion of both the UFC and WEC, who was born in Manaus, Brazil, on September 9, 1986. Aldo made his professional walk to the octagon in 2004. His rise began in the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), where he won the featherweight title in 2009 after defeating Mike Brown. When the WEC eventually merged with UFC, Aldo became the UFC's first-ever featherweight champion.
Despite adversity, such as his infamous 13-second knockout defeat at the hands of Conor McGregor in 2015, Aldo's career was marked by grit. He cut down to bantamweight later in his stint with the UFC and competed for the title in this division as well. Aldo retired in 2022 with a record of 31 victories and 8 defeats and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023. But Aldo's retirement was short-lived as he made a return to the promotion at UFC 301 against Jonathan Martinez and won the bout by a unanimous decision. Aldo is next scheduled to face Aiemann Zahabi at UFC 315 on May 10, 2025.
Jose Aldo Title Defences
Jose Aldo made seven successful defenses of the UFC featherweight title during his reign. He first defended his belt at UFC 129 in 2011 against Mark Hominick, via unanimous decision in a grueling five-round fight. Later in the year, he outpointed Kenny Florian at UFC 136.
In his following defense, he finished Chad Mendes with a vicious lateral knee in the first round at UFC 142. He followed it up with Frankie Edgar via unanimous decision at UFC 156 in 2013 and Chan Sung Jung, more commonly referred to as The Korean Zombie, by fourth-round TKO at UFC 163. His next huge test was at UFC 169, where once again he beat the belt by defending against Ricardo Lamas, but this time doing so by way of unanimous decision. Finally, Aldo beat Chad Mendes in a highly anticipated clash at UFC 179, with a very tight unanimous decision, which many regard as one of the best performances from him.
Sadly, Aldo's reign at the top came to an end in 2015 when he was infamously knocked out by Conor McGregor 13 seconds into the fight at UFC 194.
FAQs on Jose Aldo's title defences
A. Jose Aldo defended the UFC featherweight title seven times.
A. Yes, when the WEC merged with the UFC in 2010, Aldo was crowned the first UFC Featherweight Champion.
A. As of May 2025, Jose Aldo is 38 years old.
A. As of May 2025, Jose Aldo maintains a record of 32 wins and 9 losses.
