Jose Aldo opens up on inspiration to decline "$1,000,000 purses" from other organizations to make UFC comeback at 37-years-old
Jose Aldo recently opened up about his upcoming return to the octagon at UFC 301 this Saturday and noted that he even declined other lucrative offers.
The former featherweight king will be returning for a bantamweight bout against Jonathan Martinez in the co-main event. Brazilian fans will certainly be rooting for Aldo, as he is one of the country's most beloved fighters.
While speaking to CBS Sports' Shakiel Mahjouri, 'The King of Rio' explained his reasoning for coming out of retirement. He mentioned that his retirement was a much-needed break and that he received lucrative offers elsewhere but declined in favor of a UFC return.
Aldo said:
"We've been reached out by other organizations and offered big $1,000,000 purses and things like that, but it's really not a matter of financial decision. I needed to have that break. I wanted to pursue my dream of boxing, and now I'm coming back. I never really thought of fighting MMA anywhere else other than the UFC." [H/T Sports Illustrated's MMA Knockout]
Check out Jose Aldo's faceoff with Jonathan Martinez below:
Jose Aldo confirms UFC 301 is the final bout on his contract?
Jose Aldo recently confirmed that UFC 301 is the final bout on his contract with the promotion, so Saturday's result could shed light on what his next move will be.
During the aforementioned interview, Aldo mentioned that he will use his bout against Jonathan Martinez as a test to see where he is at this stage of his career. He described the negotiations he had with the promotion and noted that there were talks about a new deal, so a career resurgence shouldn't be ruled out. He said:
"This is my last fight on my contract. When I started talking to Sean [Shelby] and Dana [White] back in January, we had talked about signing a new deal. But, I decided against it because I wanna go in there, and I need to show them. I need to show myself and everyone where I'm at, what I can still do, and how I can still perform." [H/T Sports Illustrated's MMA Knockout]
Check out the UFC's hyping up Jose Aldo's octagon return below: