JOSE ALDO emotionally announced his second retirement from mixed martial arts following a controversial loss at UFC 315.
The Hall of Famer locked horns with Aiemann Zahabi in a short-notice featherweight showdown in Montreal
The former long-reigning 145lbs champion rolled back the years in the contest, throwing several of the combinations he became famed for earlier in his career.
And the 38-year-old seemed on course to have his hand raised after dropping Zahabi with a brutal head kick in the third round, which he followed up with a running kick to the face.
But he found himself eating a hellacious barrage of punches and elbows, which opened up a gash on his forehead, from his back following a failed takedown for the remainder of the round.
The judges, surprisingly, scored the fight in Zahabi’s favour, with all three of them turning in 29-28 scorecards in favour of the Canadian.
And the decision prompted an emotional Aldo to once again cal time on his career.
He said: “I don’t think I have it in me anymore. It wasn’t just about the cutting of the weight and everything else.
“I just felt there were so many things that happened. It was very tough to go through all of this.
“There was one point this week — this was a very tough week — that I felt that I didn’t have it in me, I didn’t want to cut it anymore.
“My body said no, and I just don’t think I have it anymore. I don’t want to go into war all the time and go through this.
“I just don’t have it in my heart anymore. I think this is the last time you’re going to see me. I just can’t do this anymore.”;;
Brazilian icon Aldo is considered by many to be the greatest featherweight in UFC history.
He ran roughshod through the WEC before it was absorbed by the UFC and he became the promotion’s inaugural featherweight champion.
Aldo amassed 18 wins on the bounce during a whopping TEN-YEAR undefeated streak from 2005 to 2015.
His legendary run was ended by former bitter rival and two-division champion , who won their mammoth unification bout at UFC 194 with a 13-second KO.
He’d reclaim the belt in 2016 after winning the interim title against Frankie Edgar, although he’d lose it to Max Holloway in June 2017.
He’d fail to become a two-weight world champion in July 2020 after dropping down to bantamweight, suffering a fifth-round TKO defeat to Petr Yan.
The fan favourite would close out his legendary career with four wins in his last seven outings.
