Jose Aldo will be an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter until he retires.
Aldo seeks revenge on the “Beehive State” in the “Featured” bout of UFC 307 this weekend (Sat., Oct. 5, 2023) as he takes on surging Bantamweight prospect Mario Bautista from inside the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Aldo lost the last time he competed in Utah to the current Bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvilli.
Aldo competed earlier this year (May 4) in his hometown of Rio De Jinero at UFC 301, schooling Jonathan Martinez via unanimous decision. It was the last fight on his contract, and the thought was Aldo would leave UFC to continue boxing or sign with another promotion.
“The King of Rio” will stay in the UFC for the rest of his career, as he signed a new contract. However, many other promotions tried to sign the former longtime UFC Featherweight champion.
“Listen, my dream has always been to be a champion in the UFC,” Aldo told ESPN through a translator. “I want to be a champion in the UFC; that’s what I’ve always dreamed of, and that was my ultimate goal. Thinking about the contract now, I’m looking forward to this opportunity. If any other proposals came about, I knew I would be locked in with the UFC, and that’s what I want to continue to do.”
“Other organizations came at me with some proposals and contracts,” Aldo added. “They threw some money at me, sometimes twice, three times the money, but it doesn’t matter. Listen, I’m locked in, and I think there’s a purpose for me to be in the UFC.”
MMAMania.com can confirm that the Professional Fighters League (PFL) offered Aldo a “six-figure contract” to fight for them, hoping to make Aldo vs. Patrício “Pitbull” Freire. He was also offered money from Most Value Promotions (MVP) to box on the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson undercard.
It is not rare for fighters to turn down bigger contracts to remain in the biggest fight promotion in the world, but nowadays, more and more fighters are willing to take the risk and fight in other promotions, such as Francis Ngannou or Shane Burgos.
For Aldo, he is always one or two fights away from fighting for a title, and with an impressive win on Sat., he can set himself up with that.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 307 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 307: “Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 307 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.