Aldo’s Return Marred By Boring Matchmaking

Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC

Serious fight fans adore Jose Aldo.

I’m talking about the fans who were around to remember the blue hue of the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) canvas. Anyone lucky enough to witness the Brazilian youngster run roughshod through the establishment in a violent flurry of jump knees and low kicks was an instant fan.

Aldo’s UFC career has been legendary as well. Not only did he rack up seven title defenses to start his Octagon career, but Aldo has demonstrated remarkable longevity by picking up numerous Top 10 wins after losing his title. He dropped to Bantamweight an astounding 15 years into his professional career, and what should have been a disastrous decision turned out to be a renaissance.

He didn’t end up capturing gold at 135-pounds, but Aldo was still at the top when he retired. He should have gotten the title shot instead of single-shouldered TJ Dillashaw, and his final fight before retirement saw him stuff every single Merab Dvalishvili takedown before losing a cage-control-based decision.

Aldo retired to pursue boxing after that defeat, but fans were overjoyed to have him back when he announced his UFC return in 2024. Any concerns of ring rust washed away when he picked apart the surging Jonathan Martinez to end his win streak. That victory should have served as proof that Aldo is still the man and pushed him back into high-profile contests.

Instead, he faced off against another up-and-comer without much of a name in Mario Bautista, a damn tough customer riding a six-fight win streak full of finishes. It was a great opportunity for Bautista but a waste of Aldo’s time, and the end outcome was a dreadful split-decision that didn’t even build Bautista’s name.

His wall-and-stall tactics only irritated fans.

Have UFC matchmakers learned a lesson? Of course not. Rather than capitalize on Aldo’s remaining stature by booking interesting match ups, they’re still trying to cannibalize his fame by searching for newer faces that can (maybe) beat him. Not only has he been shoved into a gatekeeper role that doesn’t quite fit, but they’re not even giving him interesting prospects!

I like Aiemann Zahabi and his fun MMA boxing style, but does even a single person reading this believe he’s a future star? He’s 37 years old! He’s not a serious title threat nor a name that can be expected to really draw the crowds. The fight itself should be enjoyable, but is this really the best use of the final handful of Jose Aldo performances?

Let me propose some alternative opponents that could have worked instead of Martinez, Bautista, and Zahabi. First and foremost: Dominick Cruz was still an active fighter when Aldo returned. Aldo vs. Cruz — an incredible obvious booking everybody wanted to see for years — would have been a very welcome “Fight Night” main event or PPV co-main at any point prior to Cruz’s retirement!

Deiveson Figueiredo or Henry Cejudo match ups could have been awesome at any point. Cory Sandhagen spent months asking for a fight after the Umar Nurmagomedov loss, and Aldo would’ve been a more than worthy challenge. Former champions, title contenders, fellow legends — that’s who Aldo should be/should have been fighting!

The Bautista loss makes that more difficult, but even if we’re forcing Aldo to face up-and-comers, shouldn’t we reserve him for the truly exciting ones? Young prospects with real hype that could actually be stars? Just a few months ago, for example, Jose Aldo vs. Payton Talbott would have been a spectacularly exciting booking that hyped up any crowd!

It’s no secret that UFC is struggling for stars, and I’m not claiming any Aldo fight is moving hundreds of thousands of pay-per-view (PPV) buys at this stage of the game. That said, he’s still a beloved fan favorite fighting well in the sport’s most talent-rich division.

There are compelling match ups available for him, but UFC has dropped the ball.