Jose Aldo will be trying to avoid a dreaded four-fight losing streak tomorrow night (Sat., Dec. 19, 2020) at UFC Vegas 17 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, when he takes on bantamweight contender Marlon Vera in the co-main event.
This is a big opportunity for Aldo to say the least. The former UFC featherweight champion has lost his last three trips to the Octagon, which is the longest losing streak of his storied career. This includes defeats to Alexander Volkanovski, Marlon Moraes, and most recently a TKO loss to Petr Yan for the vacant bantamweight strap back in July. Aldo hasn’t been completely wiped out in any of those fights, but the Brazilian veteran hasn’t tasted victory inside of the Octagon since a TKO win over Renato Moicano nearly two years ago.
With UFC cutting anyone and everyone who is making a ton of money but not winning fights you would think Aldo feels some added pressure entering his matchup with Vera at UFC Vegas 17. Surprisingly, Aldo doesn’t feel a thing. He’s actually looking at Saturday’s matchup as a fresh start to an already legendary career.
“I feel now like it’s the restart of my career,” Aldo told reporters during UFC Vegas 17’s virtual media day. “I feel like it’s the first fight of my career. … I’m not feeling any pressure because I always fight with great fighters. I just keep training hard and get ready for my next opponent. I’m not feeling any pressure.”
Aldo, who turned 34 this past September, will be entering his 17th UFC fight this weekend in Vegas. Despite having nothing left to prove and one of the most dominant UFC title runs of all time, the Brazilian legend still finds motivation to train, compete, and dedicate his life to fighting.
“What keeps me motivated is the victory,” Aldo said. “I’m training hard because I want to be a champion at my new division. That’s my motivation every day.”
While Aldo has hinted at retirement before he’s still working under a UFC contract extension from 2019. The former UFC champion is expected to fight that contract out and try to claw his way back to another title shot before it’s all said and done. It all starts this weekend at UFC Vegas 17, which is the only thing on Aldo’s mind right about now.
“I will always keep my career step by step,” Aldo said. “Right now I just think about Marlon Vera, but after Marlon Vera I can think about the future.”
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 17 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET.