Don’t let those 13 seconds fool you. Jose Aldo remains one of the greatest fighters of all time.
Long before Conor McGregor stepped into the Octagon for the first time, Aldo was dominating all challengers for his featherweight title.
Aldo went a decade undefeated, winning 18 straight fights to cement his legacy but unfortunately for him, some fans will remember him for his rivalry with McGregor which culminated in the fastest ever knockout in a UFC title fight.
Since the main event of UFC 194, Aldo has been doing his best to set up a rematch with ‘The Notorious’ but those chances took a significant dent when he came unstuck against Max Holloway on two occasions.
It had been suggested that Aldo was over the hill and the 32-year-old was a betting underdog going into his 32nd professional bout on Saturday night, when he shared the Octagon with Renato Moicano.
But Aldo rolled back the years and showed flashes of his prime striking when he stopped Moicano in the second round in Fortaleza.
Jose Aldo rolled back the years with this stunning finish against Renato Moicano at #UFCFortaleza 🇧🇷
The King of Brazil 👑 pic.twitter.com/DJnuZqcYUe
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) February 4, 2019
Aldo proved his class in the moments after his win as he actually apologised to his fellow Brazilian for setting Moicano back.
“First of all, I thanked him for the fight,” Aldo said at the post-fight press conference. “I think that I had to say sorry because I was getting in the way of his dreams.”
Aldo is a shining example for young mixed martial artists when it comes to combining class and ferocious fighting skills, proving on several occasions that one can be a vicious competitor inside the Octagon as well as a respectful role model after the final buzzer.
Moicano, at 29, still has plenty of time to improve and make a run at the title while Aldo knows that his fighting days are numbered because he has plenty more miles on his clock than his fellow Brazilian.
“We need the new generation,” Aldo said. “We need new athletes in my division, too. I always dreamed of having a total domination of Brazil in the division and I lost that so I want to give him the strength for that. So now it is in the past and I hope that he keeps going.”
What an amazing atmosphere at UFC Brazil tonight.
I would LOVE to compete there for all the passionate Brazilian fans at some stage of my career.
I was so close to securing a bout in Rio last year. It was essentially a done deal.
Maybe next time.
Ui Vai Morrer!!!! I’m still here.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) February 3, 2019
After McGregor signalled his desire to fight in Brazil before he hangs up his gloves, Aldo made it known that he would be eager to meet his Irish rival for a second time, at lightweight this time around.
“To me it would be great,” Aldo said of a potential McGregor rematch. “I don’t know if this fight he said [would be] in Rio, it didn’t get to me, but if I have that opportunity at the division above, that way I don’t have to suffer through the weight cut, I think it would be a great fight.
