Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight king Jose Aldo is set to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame later this year. The promotion made the announcement during Saturday’s UFC 283 pay-per-view (PPV) card from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (results HERE).
The only place to crown the King of Rio
@JoseAldoJunior is 2023’s first inductee into the #UFCHOF![ Presented by @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/swDxoH34xk
— UFC (@ufc) January 22, 2023
Aldo, 36, is widely regarded as the greatest featherweight champion in the history of the sport. The Brazilian tactician made a name for himself as the featherweight champion of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) from 2008-2010 before making his UFC debut in 2011. He came into the promotion as champion and certainly didn’t disappoint. Aldo would go on to defend his UFC featherweight title seven-straight times and became one of the biggest MMA attractions.
Jose Aldo was overcome with emotion after his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame was announced. pic.twitter.com/zanDwPyZAC
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) January 22, 2023
After losing his title to Conor McGregor in 2015 Aldo experienced a bit of a lull in his career. The former featherweight king decided to make a move down to bantamweight where he fought for a title and regained some of the pizzazz he possessed earlier on in his career.
Aldo retired from MMA in Sept. 2022, but left the door open to a return to combat sports. He’s now expected to make his professional boxing debut next month. It’s unknown if that is a one-off type of thing or a potential career resurgence, but Aldo should make it entertaining to watch.