Jose Aldo had repeatedly said he planned to end his MMA fighting career when his current UFC deal is done, and he also relayed he wanted to accomplish that by year’s end. But, now it’s being reported the Brazilian star has signed an extension with the UFC, and a fairly lengthy one at that.
Recently ESPN’s Brett Okamoto spoke with Dana White. When he asked White about Aldo’s next bout, which we all thought was the final one on his current contract, and therefore, final MMA fight, White reported that Aldo has in fact, signed an extension. ESPN has also confirmed with Aldo’s manager/coach, Andre Pederneiras, that the 32 year-old signed an eight fight, yes, eight fight extension prior to his bout with Alexander Volkanovski in May.
So, clearly this is quite an unexpected turn of events. Aldo has also repeatedly said he planned to transition into boxing when his UFC contract was done.
Now, this doesn’t mean that we’re going to see Aldo fight out this 8 fight deal. After all, even if Aldo stays healthy, and fights three times per year, this would mean he’s still under contract into 2022. The former featherweight champ could decide to retire from MMA prior to completing the contract, and ask the UFC to let him go give boxing a go.
It’s also somewhat interesting that this contract was signed prior to his loss to Volkanovski. If Aldo had won, he would have been in the mix for a title shot again, and the UFC wouldn’t have gone this route without a deal in place.
Okamoto also asked White about Aldo’s next bout, and the UFC President said they’re working on it.
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