Jose Aldo Continues to Deliver in Final UFC Run, Says Alexander Volkanovski’s on List of “Names”

Jose Aldo has repeatedly said that 2019 will mark the last year of his storied, MMA career, but the legend is certainly doing his best to make it a thrilling campaign.

For some time now, Aldo has said that he will transition out of MMA when his current UFC contract is up, and as it stands right now, the Brazilian star has two fights left on that deal. While some fighters look to face softer opponents in the final days of their career, Aldo wants to face the best opposition he can.

Case in point, following his second loss to reigning, featherweight champ Max Holloway in 2017,  Aldo faced Jeremy Stephens last summer and stopped him in the opening round. Then, earlier this month at UFC Fortaleza, Aldo took on Renato “Moicano” and he proceeded to hand the promising fighter just his second defeat to date (via second-round stoppage).

Well, after that win, Aldo was asked about the possibility of facing another of the division’s, fastest rising commodities, Alexander Volkanovski. At the time, Aldo relayed he wasn’t overly aware of the Australian fighter. But, more recently, the Brazilian legend reported Volkanovski is one of the opponents they’ve approached the UFC about facing (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“I gave them some names, but Volkanovski is a good opponent and is on a great streak,” Aldo said. “He’s coming off a great win over Chad Mendes, so it would be a great fight.”

“That’s why we asked him, it’s a great match-up,” he added. “He’s a very aggressive fighter, comes forward, so we already had in mind asking for him after (fighting) Moicano. Let’s see if it works. There’s a possibility we fight at lightweight, too, but that’s up to ‘Dede’ (Pederneiras). He has to negotiate.”

Now, even if for some reason you’re not an Aldo supporter, you have to concede the 32-year-old deserves a ton of respect for how he’s navigating his MMA exit. Not only is Aldo still willing and eager to face the best-of-the-best, he’s targeting these fights, even though the chances of him fighting for the belt again are slim-to-none, as long as Holloway holds the belt.

It remains to be seen if Aldo – Volkanovski becomes a reality, but if it does, the UFC also deserves a lot of credit. The promotion could elect to keep rising contenders away from Aldo at this stage, as a means to ensure there are title challengers available in the coming months. “Moicano” is ranked #5, Volkanovski is #4 and Brian Ortega, who Holloway has already defeated, is #2.