José Aldo's Career UFC Career Highlights

Learn more about José Aldo, aka "The King of Rio," and his career highlights, which range from being unstoppable in WEC, becoming the first UFC featherweight champion, and being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. We'll also cover his records and discuss the statistics behind Aldo's amazing career.

Career Highlights

• While in WEC, Aldo defeated Alexandre Nogueira, Jonathan Brookins, Cub Swanson, Mike Brown, Urijah Faber, and Manny Gamburyan. He was 8-0 with seven finishes. He won the WEC title in November of 2009 and defended the belt twice.
  
   
• Aldo made his WEC debut on June 1, 2008.
  
   
• Aldo was awarded first UFC featherweight championship belt in November of 2010, and he went on to defend the title seven times during his first reign as champion. His loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 194 snapped an 18-fight winning streak.
  
   
• In his career, Aldo has 17 wins by KO, and one win by submission (arm triangle choke in 2005). He has 12 first-round finishes and three KO of the Night awards from his time in WEC.
  
   
• In 2019, Aldo moved down to the bantamweight division, immediately fighting top contenders on his way to a fight with Petr Yan for the vacant bantamweight title. He lost the bout.
  
   
• Aldo has won four of his last five fights, establishing himself as one of the top bantamweight contenders.
  
   
• Inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame's Modern Wing in 2023

Top Knockouts In José Aldo's Career

Aldo has won 11 UFC and WEC fights by KO. Those victories came against Alexandre Nogueira, Jonathan Brookins, Rolando Perez, Chris Mickle, Cub Sanson, Mike Brown, Manny Gamburyan, Chad Mendes, The Korean Zombie, Jeremy Stephens, and Renato Moicano.

5 Standout Fights From José Aldo's Career

With 27 UFC/WEC fights to his resume, Aldo has been a part of many incredible fights. Here are highlights from some of his greatest fights and title defenses.

UFC 142: José Aldo vs Chad Mendes

José Aldo delivered his signature moment in his third UFC featherweight title defense. At the end of the first round of his bout with Chad Mendes, Aldo broke away from the clinch and threw a beautifully timed knee up the middle that sent his foe crashing to the canvas.

Aldo celebrated his knockout of Mendes by promptly running out of the Octagon and celebrating with the entire packed crowd in Rio de Janeiro. It was a special moment for Aldo and reminded the world just how fantastic he is.

UFC 163 - José Aldo vs The Korean Zombie

José Aldo was notorious for beating up the legs of his opponents, but he found alternate methods to beat The Korean Zombie at UFC 163. Aldo was able to negate TKZ's go for broke style by countering and finding better angles throughout the fight.

In the fourth round, it appeared something happened to TKZ's shoulder and Aldo saw it happen. He started kicking the shoulder right away and went into full-on relentless mode until TKZ went to the ground to cover up. Aldo poured on the strikes and stopped the fight. Another title defense for Aldo.

UFC 179 - José Aldo vs Chad Mendes 2

The first time these two met, the fight came to a sudden and emphatic end, but their rematch was much different. Aldo and Mendes went to battle for 25 minutes, delivering a high paced exciting match. It was back and forth, but Aldo was busier and landing the overall better strikes throughout the fight. Aldo won the fight by unanimous decision and defended his featherweight title for a seventh consecutive time.

It was one of the best featherweight title fights in history and would be one of Aldo's most memorable fights.

UFC on Fox - José Aldo vs Jeremy Stephens

Aldo got back into the win column after his two fights with Max Holloway in true José Aldo fashion. "The King of Rio" hit powerful contender Jeremy Stephens with a body kick that sent Stephens falling across the Octagon.

After the TKO win, it was clear how much the moment meant to Aldo, who showed that he had plenty of gas left in the tank to compete with the best in the world, despite losing the featherweight title.

UFC Fight Night - José Aldo vs Renato Moicano

Renato Moicano. About thirty seconds into the second round, Aldo found Moicano's chin multiple times and sent Moicano retreating around the outside of the fence. Aldo was relentless, never stopped firing strikes and didn't give Moicano a chance to recover. The ref saw Moicano was out on his feet and stopped the bout.

Aldo proceeded to run right into the crowd and celebrate with the Brazilian fans, just like he did all the way back at UFC 142.

José Aldo's Athlete Record

• UFC 301 (5/4/24) Aldo won a three round unanimous decision over Jonathan Martinez
  
   
• UFC 278 (8/20/22) Aldo lost a three round unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili
  
   
• UFC on ESPN (12/4/21) Aldo won a five-round unanimous decision over Rob Font
  
   
• UFC 265 (8/7/21) Aldo won a three round unanimous decision over Pedro Munhoz
  
   
• UFC Fight Night (12/19/20) Aldo won a three round unanimous decision over Marlon Vera
  
   
• UFC 251 (7/12/20) Aldo was stopped by Petr Yan via strikes at 3:24 of the fifth round in a fight for the vacant UFC bantamweight title
  
   
• UFC 245 (12/14/19) Aldo lost a three round split decision to Marlon Moraes
  
   
• UFC 237 (5/11/19) Aldo lost a three round unanimous decision to Alexander Volkanovski
  
   
• UFC Fight Night (2/2/19) Aldo stopped Renato Moicano via strikes at :44 of the second round
  
   
• UFC on FOX (7/28/18) Aldo stopped Jeremy Stephens via strikes at 4:19 of the first round
  
   
• UFC 218 (12/2/17) Aldo was stopped by Max Holloway via strikes at 4:51 of the third round in a bout for the UFC featherweight title
  
   
• UFC 212 (6/3/17) Aldo was stopped by Max Holloway via strikes at 4:13 of the third round, losing his UFC featherweight title
  
   
• UFC 200 (7/9/16) Aldo won a five round unanimous decision over Frankie Edgar to win the interim UFC featherweight title. Title was elevated to undisputed championship after McGregor vacated the title.
  
   
• UFC 194 (12/12/15) Aldo was knocked out by Conor McGregor at :13 of the first round, losing his UFC featherweight title
  
   
• UFC 179 (10/25/14) Aldo won a five round unanimous decision over Chad Mendes to retain his UFC featherweight title
  
   
• UFC 169 (2/1/14) Aldo won a five round unanimous decision over Ricardo Lamas to retain his UFC featherweight title
  
   
• UFC 163 (8/3/13) Aldo stopped Chan Sung Jung via strikes at 2:00 of the fourth round to retain his UFC featherweight title
  
   
• UFC 156 (2/2/13) Aldo won a five round unanimous decision over Frankie Edgar to retain his UFC featherweight title
  
   
• UFC 142 (1/14/12) Aldo knocked out Chad Mendes at 4:59 of the first round in a UFC featherweight title fight.
  
   
• UFC 136 (10/8/11) Aldo won a five round unanimous decision over Kenny Florian in a UFC featherweight title fight.
  
   
• UFC 129 (4/30/11) Aldo won a five round unanimous decision over Mark Hominick in a UFC featherweight title fight.

WEC HISTORY:

• WEC 51 (9/30/10) Aldo successfully defended his title with a second round knockout (1:32) of Manny Gamburyan.
  
   
• WEC 48 (4/24/10) Aldo successfully defended his title with a five round unanimous decision win over Urijah Faber.
  
   
• WEC 44 (11/18/09) Aldo stopped Mike Brown via strikes at 1:20 of the second round to win the WEC featherweight title
  
   
• WEC 41 (6/7/09) Aldo stopped Cub Swanson via strikes at :08 of the first round.
  
   
• WEC 39 (3/1/09) Aldo stopped Chris Mickle with strikes at 1:39 of the first round.
  
   
• WEC 38 (1/25/09) Aldo knocked out Rolando Perez at 4:15 of the first round.
  
   
• WEC 36 (11/5/08) Aldo stopped Jonathan Brookins via strikes at :45 of the third round.
  
   
• WEC 34 (6/1/08) Aldo stopped Alexandre Nogueira via strikes at 3:22 of the second round.

José Aldo Rapid Q&A

• What is José Aldo's UFC record?
  • 14-7
    
     
• What is José Aldo's age?
  • 37 years old
    
     
• How tall is José Aldo?
  • 5-7
    
     
• What is José Aldo's reach?
  • 70"
    
     
• Where is José Aldo from?
  • José Aldo was born in Manaus, Brazil and fights out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
    
     
• What weight division is José Aldo in?
  • Despite competing at featherweight for most of his UFC career, José Aldo moved down to bantamweight at UFC 245 and has competed at that weight class ever since.
    
     
• How many successful featherweight title defenses does José Aldo have?
  • Seven

What Fighting Style Does José Aldo Use?

One of the reasons that José Aldo is known as one of the greatest featherweights ever is that he uses his explosive striking perfectly. Aldo has phenomenal leg kicks, perfectly timed body shots, and he has a cardio gas tank to wear on any opponent. Aldo beats his opponents at their own game and is a true finisher.

How Many UFC Fights Does José Aldo Have In His Career?

José Aldo has 21 career UFC fights.

When Does José Aldo Fight Next?

Jose Aldo's next fight has yet to be determined.