Jose Aldo retirement: 5 great fights fans missed out on

This weekend at UFC 315, legendary former featherweight champion Jose Aldo announced his retirement. The Brazilian will go down as an all-time great, and was already inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023.

Over his UFC career, Aldo fought a who's who of great fighters, from Conor McGregor to Alexander Volkanovski. However, there are some glaring absences on his list of foes.

So who did 'The King of Rio' miss out on fighting? There are definitely some names that stand out over and above others.

Here are five great fights that Jose Aldo missed out on during his career.

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#5. Jose Aldo vs. Henry Cejudo

We begin with a fight that actually could've taken place, were it not for the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Jose Aldo moved down to 135 pounds in 2019 following a defeat to future featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski.

Although some fans were cynical of his chances at bantamweight, particularly as he'd seemingly lost a step, he duly made the weight for a fight with Marlon Moraes that December. Aldo lost a split decision to 'Magic', but his showing was impressive, with many observers believing he'd done enough to win.

At the same time, former flyweight champion Henry Cejudo was beginning his own reign atop the bantamweight division, having claimed the vacant title earlier that year.

Despite the presence of dangerous contenders like Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling, Aldo was pegged as Cejudo's first challenger. The bout was supposed to headline UFC 250, which was booked in Sao Paulo, Brazil in May 2020.

Of course, the pandemic then forced the world to shut down. When the UFC began to run shows again, there was no chance of them heading to Brazil, nor could Aldo get to the US to compete either.

The bout was scrapped, with Cejudo instead defending his title against Dominick Cruz and retiring directly after.

Aldo, meanwhile, ended up fighting Yan for the vacant title in a losing effort that July.

Cejudo did return to action in 2023, but the UFC never pursued a fight between him and Aldo again. Who would've come out on top? Given the period they were supposed to clash during, 'Triple C' likely would've been favored.

However, due to Aldo's excellent takedown defense and heavy striking power, it definitely would've been an intriguing bout. It absolutely remains one of the biggest that Aldo missed out on during his career.

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#4. Jose Aldo vs. BJ Penn

Jose Aldo vs. BJ Penn is a fight more rooted in fantasy than Aldo vs. Cejudo. However, it's still one that's well worth considering as a dream fight that 'The King of Rio' missed out on.

Aldo rose to fame in the WEC in the late 2000's, during the same period of time that saw Penn run roughshod over the UFC's lightweight division.

It's arguable that Aldo reached the zenith of his powers at some point between 2010 and 2011, just as 'The Prodigy' was beginning to fade. Penn famously lost his lightweight crown to Frankie Edgar in April 2010, the same month that saw Aldo destroy Urijah Faber.

Had Aldo been in the UFC at the same time as Penn's lightweight title reign, though, there's no doubt that fans might've clamored to see a bout between the two.

After all, in his prime, Penn's boxing, takedown defense and submission skills were second to none at 155 pounds. The same could be said for Aldo at 145 pounds.

Could Penn have withstood the kind of leg kick assault that Aldo would've utilised? Or would the Hawaiian have been able to use his slick hands to simply outbox the Brazilian? It's a truly fascinating question that we'll never be able to answer.

Strangely enough, UFC fans actually weren't that far off seeing this clash in 2014. Had Penn defeated Edgar in their trilogy bout after a surprise move to 145 pounds, he may well have been rewarded with a shot at Aldo.

However, it wasn't to be, as Penn was too far gone at that point. Still, considering both men are still regarded as all-time greats of their respective divisions, this fight could've been brilliant at their peaks.

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#3. Jose Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis

One of Jose Aldo's more impressive featherweight title defenses saw him stop the ultra-durable 'Korean Zombie' in the headliner of UFC 163.

However, the Zombie wasn't supposed to be the man facing off with 'The King of Rio' in his hometown that night. Instead, the original title challenger was set to be Anthony 'Showtime' Pettis.

At the time, Pettis was still very hot property. After arriving in the UFC as the final WEC lightweight champion, he'd lost his octagon debut to Clay Guida, but had recovered quickly with three straight wins.

However, with the queue for a title shot at 155 pounds jammed, 'Showtime' decided he'd move to 145 pounds in an attempt to claim featherweight gold too.

Realizing the potential for a classic clash with Aldo, Dana White quickly obliged, and booked the fight for August 2013.

MMA fans worldwide were instantly excited by the fight, feeling that the flashy striking of Pettis would, at worst, force Aldo into a more aggressive approach than we'd seen from him in the UFC to that point.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. 'Showtime' injured his knee and was forced out, and the Zombie stepped in to replace him.

Weirdly enough, Pettis actually returned to action less than a month later, but it was in a fight for the lightweight title, which he duly won.

Quite why the UFC got cold feet and never re-booked Aldo vs. Pettis as a champ vs. champ bout is a bit of a mystery, but to be fair, 'superfights' like that were far rarer in the pre-McGregor era.

Hindsight tells us that Jose Aldo probably would've won this fight handily, but back in the summer of 2013, seeing 'The King of Rio' face 'Showtime' would've been quite something.

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#2. Jose Aldo vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Like the aforementioned fight with BJ Penn, a clash between Jose Aldo and Khabib Nurmagomedov is probably closer to the realm of fantasy than anything else.

After all, Aldo never did make the move to 155 pounds that many observers once spoke about during his dominant run as UFC featherweight champion.

More to the point, Khabib never became the king of the lightweights until 2018, by which point Aldo was past his best anyway.

However, had Aldo defeated Conor McGregor in 2015, he may well have finally made that jump up in weight, having accomplished basically everything at 145 pounds.

Had he done that, he could've found himself on a collision course with 'The Eagle', and to be frank, a clash between the two during their primes would've been incredible.

Jose Aldo would've given up some size to Khabib, but at his best, his takedown defense was practically impenetrable, as he was able to stop the likes of Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar from grappling with him.

More importantly, Aldo definitely had the striking ability to trouble Nurmagomedov, who was never a truly comfortable kickboxer.

Overall, then, this one should probably be filed alongside bouts like Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones vs. Cain Velasquez as possible classics we narrowly missed out on.

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#1. Jose Aldo vs. Dominick Cruz

It's arguable that the ultimate Jose Aldo fight that was never booked by the UFC was one pitting him against Dominick Cruz.

What makes this so disappointing is the fact that the promotion had numerous opportunities to put it together when it would've made sense, but just never did.

At their peaks, Aldo and Cruz ruled over the featherweight and bantamweight divisions, respectively. They both claimed gold in the WEC in 2009, and joined the UFC as reigning champions two years later.

Cruz's myriad injury problems, coupled with the UFC's general avoidance of champion vs. champion bouts in the pre-McGregor era meant that a fight between them in their primes was never likely to happen.

However, as both men began to age, particularly after Aldo made the drop to 135 pounds in 2019, a clash between 'The King of Rio' and 'The Dominator' would've been perfect.

Both men were still big enough stars for the fight to be a huge deal for the fans, and given their age and wear-and-tear, they would also have been the perfect opponents for one another.

A fight between Jose Aldo and Cruz would've pitted the Brazilian's straightforward, buzzsaw approach against the more strategic style of 'The Dominator', and honestly, it would've been a very difficult fight to pick.

Unfortunately, despite numerous rumors about the fight being put together before Aldo's initial retirement in 2022, it never came to fruition.

Had the UFC booked it in say, 2021, it could easily have headlined a Fight Night event and would've been an excellent book-end for either man's career. As it was, it remains a fantasy fight that we sadly, never got to see.