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After taking a short break since retiring from MMA, Jose Aldo has returned to combat sports, venturing into the world of boxing, and after winning his first fight in the sport, the South American has announced who his next opponent will be.
'The King of Rio' saw his win streak and his dreams of fighting for another UFC title come to an end when he faced Merab Dvalishvili in his final MMA bout. Despite showcasing his impressive defensive grappling ability, it wasn't enough to get his hands raised as his Georgian opponent came away with the victory.
In a post on social media, Jose Aldo announced to his fans that he will be stepping back into the squared circle on April 1 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as he collides with former foe Jeremy Stephens.
"I'll be fighting Jeremy Stephens at Gamebred Boxing Promotions on Saturday, April 1st in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Tickets officially go on sale TODAY at 12pm CST at all Ticketmaster locations."
Jeremy Stephens has been on a less-than-impressive run of form of late, losing seven and scoring one no-contest in his past nine fights. His sole win throughout his rough patch came eight months ago when he scored a split decision victory over Myles Price in the PFL.
As mentioned above, this will be Jose Aldo's second professional matchup as a boxer, having scored a rather one-sided unanimous decision win over Emmanuel Zambrano earlier this month.
Despite never competing in the sport, 'Lil Heathen' has shaped his martial arts career around knocking opponents out, with the heavy-hitter earning 19 knockouts from his 29 victories in MMA.
What happened the time Jose Aldo and Jeremy Stephens fought?
As they approach their rematch inside the boxing ring, Jose Aldo and Jeremy Stephens will look back on their fight in the octagon from five years ago in preparation for April 1.
The landscape looked completely different for the two athletes back when they met on July 28, 2018. The Brazilian was trying to get his career back on track after losing back-to-back matchups against Max Holloway, while his opponent was on a three-fight win streak, most recently scoring a huge knockout against Josh Emmett.
During the bout, Aldo showed his Hall-of-Fame caliber level and dominated the striking exchanges before landing sickening body shots, which eventually led to him earning a first-round TKO stoppage.
