Apart from Aldo's run at Featherweight, which was the greatest ever run at FW and has been talked about a lot, I would like to explore his run at Bantamweight a bit more. I think he was massively underrated in his later years, and his run at BW proved his skills but more importantly his ability to adapt in the latter stages of his career, a thing mostly unheard of in MMA. He went from vicious leg kicks and blisteringly fast head/leg combos to a more boxing focused style as he slowed down and injuries limited his kicking game. Most fighters can't or don't adapt as they slow down or start losing, and he is in good company with the few who did, such as Alistair Overeem and Robert Whittaker.
So let's get into his run at Bantamweight. Lets start with a little history to paint the scene. After losing his FW belt to Conor, he regained it against Frankie Edgar. He then lost twice decisively to Max Holloway, getting stopped both times. Lots of people thought he was done at this point. Aldo was a fighter who defied expectations at many points of his career, and his finishes over Stephens and Moicano proved that he wasn't done just yet. He then lost a pedestrian decision to one Alexander Volkanovski, and we thought that that was a clear sign of Aldo's decline. We later realised just how damn good Volkanovski is, and the fact that Aldo lost a boring decision to him shows how much respect Volk had to give him.
Aldo then moved down to BW. At the time most educated observers were perplexed at this move, as Aldo had had trouble making weight for FW multiple times and had even talked about moving up to Lightweight. So reason thought that a move to BW (at the later stages of his career as well!) would deplete an already not-great gas tank. Anyway, Aldo proved everyone wrong when he made weight absolutely fine. Apparently his weight cut to fight Moraes was the first time he had used a dedicated nutritionist in his entire career! And I want to point out, Aldo was truly a big bantamweight. He had the size advantage on all of his opponents at BW, so it was interesting to see his weight cut and subsequent gas tank actually improve in many regards. Remember, he broke his personal record for significant strikes in the Munhoz fight, which was a 3 round fight!
Marlon Moraes:
So he fought Marlon Moraes to start his BW stint. Moraes was coming off a third round TKO loss to Henry Cejudo, in a fight where Moraes dominated the first round and subsequently slowed down as Henry stepped on the gas and broke him over the next two rounds. We can talk about how Moraes has then gone on a terrible losing streak since, but at the time he was still a feared opponent and had knocked out fighters such as Aljamain Sterling (who wouldn't go on to lose till this year vs O'Malley). Aldo lost a close decision (many thought he won although I personally scored it for Moraes) in a rather boring fight, however this proved three things for Aldo, one that he could hang with the elite at BW, two that his weight cut was doable, and three that his chin could hold up to power (gifs to prove).
Petr Yan:
So, because Cejudo had temporarily retired and the BW title was vacant, the UFC had to find two fighters to fight for the belt. They chose Petr Yan and Jose Aldo. Many thought this was a bit ridiculous as if my memory serves Aljamain Sterling had just finished top contender Cory Sandhagen in under 1 round, and Aldo had just lost to Moraes. Regardless they made the fight. They both looked very evenly matched, with Jose getting back to form and actually throwing leg kicks throughout the first and second round which forced Yan to switch stance in round 2. A failed takedown and subsequent GnP shot hurt Aldo to the body at the end of round 1, giving Petr the round. Aldo came out and looked great in round 2, winning the round on all scorecards, and showing brilliant boxing especially to the body. A close 3rd round, with both trading and Petr edging the round out after making some key adjustments on the feet. After this the limits to Aldo's historically mediocre gas tank showed. Aldo slowed down dramatically in round 4 and round 5, and an extended finishing sequence and poor reffing caused Aldo to eat many, many shots to the head on the ground in a fight I will personally not watch past the 3rd round. However, this was Petr Yan at the height of his powers, in my opinion skill for skill one of the best BW's in his prime, and Aldo looked great until his age caught up with him in terms of his cardio. Although a loss on his record, in my opinion an impressive showing considering his age and wear and tear.
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Marlon Vera:
This was a bounce back fight for Aldo, because we were again wondering whether Aldo could hang with the elite after the gruesome amount of damage he took in the Yan fight. Vera was coming off a knockout win over O'Malley, although there was some controversy due to the perennial nerve situation. Vera was ultra tough, with an iron chin and cardio for days. He, as we saw in his earlier and later fights, has knockout power with all of the shots he throws, and can be a tricky fighter to look good against due to his unorthodox style.
This was a tough fight for Aldo on paper. Aldo won round one on body work and a few leg kicks, very classic Aldo holding the center/pressuring. Vera was also biting on every feint Aldo threw all fight. Vera actually landed far more shots in the first round, but most were leg attacks that either got checked or barely landed with enough force to hurt a fly. Round two was technically Vera's on the judges scorecards, although on a rewatch I personally thought Aldo landed harder, more damaging shots. Vera had the activity, but very few of his shots actually connected properly. Round three was where a lot of people thought Aldo might slow down, like the Petr Yan fight, but Aldo being the veteran he is secured back control and held a body triangle for more than 4 minutes! 29/28 for Aldo across the board. Aldo was incredibly accurate in this fight, and landed almost everything he threw, which was a great way to manage his gas tank. Good bounce back fight for Aldo, and showed that he could still hang at the top of the division.
Couldn't find any gifs for this one (and spent way too much time making the last one) so instead here is a link to the highlights on youtube.
Pedro Munhoz:
Munhoz was a game opponent with cardio for days and knockout power in both hands. Munhoz was coming off a good win over Jimmie Rivera, and a split decision loss before that to Frankie Edgar which was a bad decision from my memory. And although Munhoz was probably Aldo's easiest opponent in his last 3 fights, it wasn't a sure bet by any means, with the odds being close to a Pick'Em.
A competitive first round, with Aldo checking pretty much every calf kick in a brilliant display of how to defend against a relatively new weapon at the time. In the second and third Aldo took over, going back to his leg kicks, dropping Munhoz at one point with a leg kick, and unleashing long punch combinations in style. Aldo actually broke his own record for most significant strikes, and this was a 3 rounder, not the normal 5 rounder we have been accustomed to Aldo fighting. Aldo looked as good as he has ever looked in those second and third rounds, and this proved he had gas left in the tank.
Twitter gif of Aldo checking calf kicks:
Rob Font:
Rob Font was Jose's last win in the UFC. Font was on an absolute tear, stopping Marlon Moraes, beating Cody Garbrant, Ricky Simons and Sergio Pettis by decision. He was on a 4 fight winning streak and looked like he was on his way to a title shot. Then he met Aldo. Rob Font outlanded Aldo 149 to 86, and it might have been the biggest discrepancy in sig strikes landed while still having the lower number be the victor. I was worried for Aldo in the first round, as Rob Font seemed to be a step ahead of him in the striking. Aldo was getting eaten up by Font's jab, and didn't seem to have an answer for it.
However, Aldo had a MASSIVE power advantage, and Font got hurt every time Aldo landed a shot. Font was knocked down two times, and hurt in almost every round. That was the story of the fight, Font landed far more strikes but Aldo would find a shot that stole the round. Aldo also pulled out some great top control in this fight, keeping Font grounded and regaining his stamina (when Aldo was exhausted in round 4/5 especially) in key moments. Every time it looked like Font was getting his rhythm Aldo would do something to disrupt it. This was Aldo's last great performance, and although I think it showed some inherent limitations in his game at this stage (mainly his gas tank and inability to continue to throw leg kicks even when they are working well) this was another war from the king of Rio that we should consider ourselves lucky to have witnessed.
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Merab Dvalishvili:
This was Aldo's last fight, and in my opinion a bit of terrible matchmaking by the UFC. He was on a 3 fight tear, and instead of getting a title shot they gave an aging TJ Dillashaw the TS, off an extended layoff for popping for EPO, and a dodgy decision to Cory Sandhagen which he shouldn't have won imo. TJ then came into the fight against Aljamain Sterling with a terribly torn shoulder and should never have been cleared to fight. Aldo should have gotten the title shot instead of TJ, and in my opinion Aljo is a favourable matchup for Aldo and we quite possibly could have seen Aldo become champ at BW if the matchmakers had done their job better.
Anyway, instead Aldo got Merab at altitude. They fought at Salt Lake City, which is over 1300 meters above sea level. This clearly compromised Aldo's already not great gas tank, and Aldo threw only 67 strikes over three rounds. He did exhibit as usual, incredible takedown defense, stuffing 16 shots from Merab over three rounds and never getting taken down. This was impressive at the time, but looking at what Merab then went and did to Petr Yan (a one sided domination where Yan got ran over) and Henry Cejudo (Merab getting multiple takedowns on the Olympic Gold Medalist and dominating the last two rounds) this makes Aldo look even better for only losing a boring decision. Aldo's corner surprisingly told Aldo he was up 2 rounds after round 2, which might have been the deciding factor in Aldo coasting in the last round. This reminds me a bit of Aldo's fight against Volkanovski, where he basically got nullified in the clinch and on the fence for 3 rounds. And we know how good Volkanovski has looked after that, and Merab seems to be going the same way with his recent performances. Although a loss, this fight proved Aldo's legendary takedown defense still held up against the best wrestler in the division, and although a disappointing performance for his last fight, honestly not a bad way to go out to in my opinion the best fighter in the division, considering he didn't take much damage.
In my opinion Aldo retired at the right time. He didn't take much damage in his last four fights, and he was getting up there in age at 35, and in fight mileage terms he was ancient, having competed at the highest level since 2009. Also, we saw his decline in a few areas, especially in the Merab fight. His normally impeccable ringcraft had deteriorated, and he did things like back himself up to the fence that he just didn't do in his prime. His kicking game had been severely reduced, and he wasn't as fast (although still fast compared to his opponents) as he was at FW. His run at BW was even more impressive when you acknowledge this deterioration. A 5 year out of prime Aldo stuck around at the top of, in my opinion most talent stacked division in the entire UFC, for 6 fights and won half of them.
TLDR:
Aldo doing GOAT things at BW.
Closing thoughts:
I hope you've enjoyed reading this very long post. Thanks for reading, I really enjoyed writing it and rewatching Aldo's fights. It took me about two weeks to put it together, and I would have used more gifs but as most of @KazDibiase 's gifs are gone because of the site update, I had a lot of trouble finding relevant gifs.
We should all appreciate Aldo's greatness and be happy we got to witness him fight so many times. War Aldo forever.
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