Jose Aldo will fight #14-ranked bantamweight Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 4. The news was first reported by AG fight on March 16, and later confirmed by Martinez on socials.
The bout appears to be the co-main event to Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg for the flyweight title. Aldo is coming out of retirement after announcing his exit from the sport in September 2022. "Junior" went 3-2 in his last five octagon appearances and had a successful 2-0-1 run in boxing in 2023.
Despite the retirement, Aldo remained under contract with the UFC with one fight left on his contract. This fight with Martinez could be the very last appearance Aldo has in the UFC.
Both Aldo and Martinez have a reputation for their devastating leg kicks, but only "The Dragon" possesses two victories via leg kick TKO. Martinez and Edson Barboza are the only fighters in UFC history to possess more than one leg kick finish.
Martinez's UFC career started off on a rocky note and ended with a devastating KO loss to Davey Grant in 2021. Since then, the 'Different Breed MMA' product has pieced together a tidy six-fight win streak, including wins over Cub Swanson, Said Nurmagomedov, and Adrian Yanez.
It's a tough return for Aldo, but it presents an opportunity to cause a major upset and step back into the rankings while also being a stylistically pleasing matchup for the fans.
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