UFC Legend Jose Aldo expected to make his professional boxing debut on February 10 in Brazil.
After losing against Merab Dvalishvili in August last year, Aldo retired from MMA with a record of 31-8. Although the Brazilian legend has moved on from the octagon, he still has another combat sport that motivates him.
The 36-year-old Jose Aldo has booked his professional boxing debut. According to MMAFighting, the former UFC champion has signed on for an appearance in the squared circle on February 10. Several details, including the weight class and opponent, have not been revealed just yet.
Jose Aldo’s pro boxing debut will take place at the Nova Uniao Training Center. MMAFighting also reported that several former UFC fighters linked to Nova Uniao are filling up the fight card, including Johnny Eduardo, Hernani Perpetuo, and Valmir Lazaro.
Despite a lengthy, legendary career, the Brazilian is still four years shy of 40 and has a massive fanbase in his home country. Nobody expects the former UFC champion to compete for a world title, but he could end up going on a marketable run like Anderson Silva.
Jose Aldo is making his boxing dream come true
Jose Aldo has accomplished plenty in MMA, but his love for combat sports goes further than the octagon. The 36-year-old has always wanted to compete in professional boxing.
Aldo appeared on the podcast Trocacao Franca in October to discuss what’s next for him after retiring from MMA:
“It [Boxing] was always a dream I had in my life, I never hid that from anyone. It was always a dream. But let’s see. Everybody says I’m still young, that I have a few years [left].”
Aldo made his pro MMA debut in August 2004, but he has probably competed dozens of times off the books. The Manaus native established an impressive 10-1 record before becoming a superstar in WEC. He dominated the featherweight division for two years, winning all eight fights with the promotion, including three title fights.
In April 2011, Aldo made his UFC debut by defeating Mark Hominick. He went on to become a UFC featherweight champion with a dominant reign before Conor McGregor put an end to it at the screamer that was UFC 194 in 2015.
The 36-year-old now plans to spend the next chapter of his fighting career as a boxer.
Watch a short highlight reel of Jose Aldo below: