5 Jose Aldo fights that never happened
Jose Aldo is one of the greatest fighters of all time. He ruled the featherweight division for years in the WEC and continued in the UFC when the promotions merged. Aldo’s dominant reign was comparable to what fellow UFC champions Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre were doing in their respective weight-classes. His fighting style made him a fan-favorite as he always looked to finish fights in devastating fashion.
Prior to losing his UFC featherweight championship to Conor McGregor at UFC 194, Aldo was unbeaten for a decade. His last loss was to Luciano Azevedo in a lightweight bout at Jungle Fight 5 in only his eighth professional fight. Aldo’s remarkable decade-long winning streak saw him become WEC and UFC featherweight champion. Aldo’s winning streak included wins over UFC Hall of Famers Urijah Faber and Frankie Edgar.
During Aldo’s career, there have been many fights that were in the works but didn’t come to fruition. This list will look at 5 Jose Aldo fights that never happened.
5) Aldo vs. Henry Cejudo - UFC bantamweight championship
Triple C gets his wish 👀 (via @bokamotoESPN) https://t.co/xAQ4u7BOEh
Kicking off this list is the proposed fight between Jose Aldo and Henry Cejudo. The global pandemic put a halt to a lot of plans. One of those plans was the scheduled UFC bantamweight championship bout between Aldo and then-champion Cejudo.
Prior to the pandemic, Aldo vs. Cejudo was scheduled for UFC 250 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. However, the fight then moved to UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Florida, which was the promotion’s first event since the shutdown. Aldo was in a unique situation as he received a title-shot as he came off a split-decision loss to Marlon Moraes.
Unfortunately for Aldo, he was forced to withdraw from the event because of visa issues and was replaced by Dominick Cruz. Cejudo won and retired during his post-fight interview.
Jose Aldo is out of his #UFC250 main event against Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) to be replaced by former champion Dominick Cruz (@DominickCruz).
His last octagon appearance was on 30th December 2016 when he lost a decision to Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove).
#UFC #MMA #FPMMA https://t.co/rciEy38vwt
It would have been interesting to see how a Cejudo vs. Aldo bout would have gone. Cejudo’s Olympic wrestling background will always make him a threat. However, Aldo's takedown defense is legendary, and his high-level striking has only grown sharper since his move down to bantamweight.