Jose Aldo walking out to UFC 179, with throwback label. Credit: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Jose Aldo’s best UFC fight took place in Rio right before he lost the title to Conor McGregor

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow
By Christopher De Santiago | Last updated Oct 12, 2025 5:46 PM ET

Jose Aldo is one of the greatest Brazilian fighters of all time.

There are only a few UFC champions who defended their title more than ‘The King of Rio’. Aldo had nine title defenses across his championship reigns in WEC and UFC, going undefeated for 10 years before he finally lost to Conor McGregor in 2015.

Aldo made his second UFC retirement official at UFC Rio on Saturday night. The 39-year-old hung up the gloves in the Octagon in front of his home crowd, months after his final fight—a loss to Aiemann Zahabi at UFC 315 in Canada.

It’s been more than a decade since Aldo won a title fight in Rio de Janeiro, which was a memorable one against a tenacious challenger.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes 2 was one of the best fights of 2014

Aldo had 42 pro MMA fights in his career, arguably none as exciting as his five-round war against Chad Mendes at UFC 179 in Brazil.

It was a rematch for Aldo after knocking out Mendes in the opening round two years prior.

Mendes was as game as they come, bloodying Aldo, but he was unable to score more than a takedown on Aldo and was outlanded in the striking department in every round except for one.

Aldo knocked down Mendes once in their competitive title fight, with Aldo getting his hand raised in a hard-fought unanimous decision victory in front of his hometown crowd.

This was Aldo’s seventh successful UFC title defense and ninth-straight title defense if you count his WEC title wins. ‘Scarface’ lost the undisputed title to Conor McGregor in his next fight, 14 months later via 13-second knockout at UFC 194.

Charles Oliveira celebrated like Jose Aldo at UFC Rio

History repeated itself at UFC Rio on Saturday night.

Following his submission win over Mateusz Gamrot in the main event, former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira jumped out of the Octagon and went over his family in the crowd to celebrate with them.

CHARLES OLIVEIRA RAN INTO THE CROWD IN RIO TO CELEBRATE WITH THE FANS JUST LIKE JOSE ALDO DID 13 YEARS AGO pic.twitter.com/R7XGBEIy9e
— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) October 12, 2025