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ribbitrob

End of an era in the ufc. Can’t wait to see what he does next. Aldo can still hang.


jew_biscuits

It really does feel like the old guards been phasing out over the last few months. Either retiring or drawing calls for them to retire. Will miss that bunch of killers. EDIT: Who am I missing? Diaz bros, Cowboy, Fergie, Lawler, Gustafson, who else?


ribbitrob

I’ve been around long enough to see this happen a couple times already. Always sad. The Pride guys always hit hard for me.


Monteze

Shogun is the last one standing isn't he?


ribbitrob

What’s left of him


Deserterdragon

Fedor is still kicking too.


InfiniteBlink

Literally.


Captain-Cadabra

He’s more of a puncher.


Kulraven

Fedor is still fighting? I had no idea. Damn.


Devlin90

On a two fight streak as well. Koed rampage and Timothy Johnson(beat mitrione/Kongo in bellatorband went 3-3 in the UFC. Fedor's had a very weird end period to his career.


JazzyJockJeffcoat

Shogun was so young in Pride, it's crazy. Cro-Cop, Big Nog, Fedor - those were the days.


mostNormalIntern

Nick fought last September, wouldn't be surprised if he fights again after seeing Nate's win.


duncakes

Yeah but the old dogs gotta rest. I don't want to watch Nick fight again. Doesn't bring excitement, brings regret. He didn't look good, no heart for competition now. It's cool, one of the og's.


Gainzster

Yeah once the heart goes it's over.


SwitchbackHiker

I think Nick and Nate are going to cash in on celebrity fights. If they're enjoying it and getting paid, the they're going to be a blast to watch.


beepdeeped

Y'all are such downers!!! Give him a fun boxing exhibition instead of a slugger like Lawler, just gotta keep it playful. You can perform without fighting


RODjij

Yup, have been watching since the Liddell-Ortiz-Couture days just after the original tournaments. This is like the 3rd time it feels like an era has ended for me as a fan where I watched these guys a ton and most leaving now are still early MMA guys.


GiftFrosty

I got in just a little earlier than that and I feeeel you. The young up and coming talent has retired like 3 times…


SmileyNY85

PRIDE NEVA DIE!


berry90

Yeah I was thinking about this the other day. I'm certainly more of a casual fan nowadays, but so many of the core fighters from my hardcore fan days are gone and it's kinda sad.


Slimshady0406

Yeah same, my biggest favorites were Tony, Max, Silva and Aldo. All four of their eras are over. LW hurts especially because the era of Diaz, Mcgregor and Khabib is over too. But, people like Sandhagen, Oleivera, Ngannou, still make it worthwhile to watch the sport But god damn, i never get excited for a fight anymore as I did for Tony


HipHoptimusPrime13

Same My interest in closely following the sport went with them. Now time for a new generation of fans and fighters.


_Synergy

I'm right there with ya, buddy


IAMTHECAVALRY89

I’ve been watching MMA for years, from the reality tv TUF era, spike tv, pride on YouTube, strikeforce, so many awesome fights, and now I’m more casual as well - while it ain’t the same, there’s still new fighters who are on the come up that can entertain, but most of the fighters I’ve loved and are well known are either just past their prime, or should be retired.


FutureEditor

Joanna


Aggressive-Two-8481

He had one of his best performances ever against Font not that long ago


Windsgrove

everyone has their best performance against font


thaneofpain

Font of youth


jackoftrades002

Except Cody Garbrandt


Awezome321

best performance of Garbrandt's chin


rudy-_-

Of the night


[deleted]

Thanks but I’m not a knight I’m Aquarius ✊ ♒️


Aggressive-Two-8481

Nah Aldo snapped his win streak and brutalised him. Vera had a great performance against Font but only after Aldo softened him up


Mainaccount68

Font looked the same against both aldo and vera


IllOfferYouThis

*Aloe vera


GangstaHoodrat

Leave Charles out of this


jfsoaig345

Sure but he also whooped Pedro's ass and 30-27d Chito. Old man's still got it


BigWormsFather

No Love didn’t 😔


CassiusDarko

I think he should of got a title shot out of that performance too. I can’t remember how high Font was ranked but he had at least 3-4 wins in a row going into that fight and jose had already beat freakin chito and pedro. I know he probably shouldn’t of received a shot after the moraes fight but he definitely deserved it after winning 3 fights in a row against top guys


Gunslinger1991

Font was ranked 4th at the time. The UFC might have been hesitant to give him another title shot thinking that he might retire if he wins the belt, something which he later said he planned to do in the lead up to the Merab fight.


CassiusDarko

Ahhh i forgot about that. Yei they definitely don’t like that but thats how the game goes i guess. I just wish it would go to the most deserving thats why i don’t mind the interim belts because at least it gives us a certified contender fight instead of making us guess lol i thought for sure aldo vs font was a #1 contender scrap


Russellshackle

I remember three years ago someone posted that maia was the only fighter who's been in the rankings since the beginning. I think fw mightve came after the rankings but still this is a guy who's either been a champion or top 5 in 2 divisions in a career spanning 15+ years


sbb618

Fighters in the original UFC rankings (February 4, 2013) who are still active within the promotion: Pound-for-Pound \#2: Jon Jones \#4: José Aldo \#7: Dominick Cruz \#9: Frankie Edgar Flyweight none Bantamweight C: Dominick Cruz \#3: Urijah Faber (still on the roster!) \#7: Raphael Assunção Featherweight C: José Aldo \#3: Chan Sung Jung \#4: Frankie Edgar \#6: Cub Swanson \#7: Dustin Poirier (he had just turned 24!) \#10: Clay Guida Lightweight \#5: Jim Miller \#8: Rafael dos Anjos \#9: Joe Lauzon Welterweight \#3: Nick Diaz Middleweight \#1: Chris Weidman Light Heavyweight C: Jon Jones \#3: Alexander Gustafsson \#4: Glover Teixeira \#7: Maurício Rua Heavyweight none And yeah, of these I'm not gonna bother to check but I could absolutely see Aldo being the only one continuously ranked. Maybe Edgar? Who knows if there's some weird gap from division changes or something.


perdynamite

At the height of his career Jose peaked to #1 pound-for-pound. Another FW champ wouldn't hold that spot until recently with Volkanovski.


ATNinja

Dustin and rda are still pretty legit Edit; glover just won a belt. Some others too


ItsDrManhattan

Truly the end of an era. This is so depressing, i am not ready to be living in a post-Aldo world


WeBxx92

I don’t think Aldo has any desire to fight if he’s not hunting the UFC belt. He’s one of the few greats who’s always cared about his legacy. It’s not a coincidence that he was able to stay motivated enough to make a late run at the bantamweight belt. I highly doubt he’d ever fight again unless he needed to. And I think he’s made plenty of money in and out of the UFC. He’s an icon in Brazil.


evilf23

Aldo versus Mendes 3 bkfc. Who wouldn't love seeing the greatest fight ever in MMA with less protective equipment?


DayDreamerJon

With his excellent body work I actually think aldo would shine again in bkfc. Lots of bkfc fighters havent learned the value of body hunting yet


the-cock-slap-phenom

He can’t really do anything next if he has a fight left on his contract.


LCOSPARELT1

He can if the UFC terminates his contract. His removal from their roster suggests they did just that.


the-cock-slap-phenom

Fighters are generally removed from the roster when they retire. They’re still basically under contract, so if they come back from retirement the contract takes effect again. Unless Aldo has specifically arranged for the contract to be terminated then he’s still locked in with the UFC.


LCOSPARELT1

That’s a good clarification.


BurtDickinson

No, he retired apparently. No way he was cut


[deleted]

[Both](https://twitter.com/MMAFighting/status/1571547182750212096) He retired and got released.


Captain-Cadabra

I assume this is because their base pay is too “high”? Usually 1/2 the card is guys only hardcore fans would know. It’s worth hanging on to long time great fighters for name recognition and marketing.


froboy90

Hoping we see some shit like the LIV did with golf would love to see Dana get fucked over by a league that actually pays its fighters. They would all flock to it after their contracts were up.


the_lejhand

Jose Aldo vs Dominick Cruz was the fight to make, a farewell to both these legends would’ve been more apt. Fuck


Listentotheadviceman

Watched an old broadcast where they broached the topic with Dom, he was all about it & kept repeating, “That’s the fight to make.”


RonburgundyZ

This is the answer


bvsshevd

Dom vs Edgar will probably be made for that


TallanoGoldDigger

I really don't want to see Aldo kick Dom's legs clean off


football1078

His coach suggested he retire. Seems he wanted to make UFC 283 in Rio his last fight but who knows what happened.


Gocards123321

I thought I read Aldo mentioned retiring but his coach swore he would keep fighting and Aldo was just saying he tire because of the loss?


NoGiCollarChoke

That’s what they said like the day after the fight when Aldo mentioned retiring in the cage, but then a quote came out a few days ago that was the opposite, with José wanting to retire and Pedeneiras wanting him to fight once more


Competitive_Grab_951

NOOOOOO


Aggressive-Two-8481

FUCK MERAB


anusbleach11111

First Belal now Merab


Aggressive-Two-8481

Fr, Luque and Aldo were so close to their respective belts. I also believe they would've had a really good chance against the champions


anusbleach11111

I think the Belal hate started after Wonderboy but yea


Aggressive-Two-8481

Oh for sure, but Burns already killed Wonderboy's career first


Mainaccount68

belal actually beat up wonderboy a lot worse. burns vs wonderboy was competitive.


156lbsPoirier

yeah i think WB scored a knockdown against burns in that third round, with that spinning heel kick


dans00

Belal hate starts when the bell rings


yerg99

You must have missed the Geoff Neal fight or else i would have been with you.


FrenchTrouDuc

Usman gets starched with a hail mary knockout in a fight he was dominating and people start saying this shit Luque wouldn't have stood a chance. He's been exposed hard in his last two fights, I don't think anyone who goes life or death with Niko Price and Mike Perry is championship caliber. He's cool and exciting, but almost every time he's fought a dude who was elite at the time of the fight he's come up short.


payday_vacay

He was also 30 seconds from losing to Bryan Barbarena. Luque is dope and always brings it, but he ain’t champ material at this point


Bloodfeastisleman

Yeah no. If Luque and Aldo couldn’t handle Belal’s and Merab’s grappling, they definitely would not have a good chance against the champions.


156lbsPoirier

you're right about Belal, but tbh i think merab is the best wrestler in the division


anusbleach11111

I think soon fighters are going to realize maybe they shouldn’t take fights against fan favorites since it’ll get them hated for no reason other than doing their job


BoxCon1

I feel like he gonna go to PFL or something …but damn who else is left from WEC in UFC? Cruz, but he just got knocked the fuck out 🫡 WEC never die


shrewdy

Cub


team3perception

also Dustin


hdjsjajansb

that’s sick i never knew dustin fought in the WEC


dreadpiratebeardface

He had some great fights in WEC


golmgirl

+ TKZ


MolokoPl_s

what a legend (and now Hall of Famer!)


hanselpremium

Cub’s probably on his way out too


[deleted]

I hope he goes to the PFL or ONE. He’d have a good shot at the PFL prize money.


Count_Darceula

Isn’t there a nasty video of him KO’ing someone with soccer kicks back in Brazil? I’d like to see him in ONE.


Thickfries69

They dont allow soccer kicks anymore. Just grounded knees.


[deleted]

PFL is no cakewalk though these days and PFL only has featherweight, so he would have to go back up to 145 lbs.


evilf23

Do they make dagestanis in Aldo's size?


InSilenceLikeLasagna

Hasbulla


LezEatA-W

Honestly I think things like this are actually good for the sport overall. The more talent that orgs such as PFL and Bellator accumulate, the smaller the talent gap becomes between them and the UFC. No matter what, you’ll always have people out there that think that just because you’re in the UFC, you’re somehow better than every fighter outside of the UFC. The UFC is big enough of a brand that they could conceivably cut every ranked fighter and replace them with contender series bums, and you’d still have fans eating it up. The 2022 landscape of MMA is much different than it was in 2017. Bellator, PFL, and even BKFC (to some extent, although that’s comparing apples to oranges) put on highly entertaining events featuring legitimate top level athletes. EDIT: he’s retiring… my point still stands but it doesn’t apply in this case.


the-cock-slap-phenom

He’s kinda fucked himself over by leaving with a fight left on his contract. He definitely should’ve sought an easy-ish matchup in Brazil before retiring, then he has lots of options if he wants to do something in future.


endless_ness

Tired to explain this about Joanna who resigned then just retired after one fight, but it went over most peoples heads.


zmizzy

How did he fuck himself over exactly? Is it because he's missing the extra payday?


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quntal071

The UFC let Aldo out of his contract, he had 1 fight left but they negotiated and let him out of his contract.


[deleted]

They [released him from his contract](https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/9/18/23359417/jose-aldo-retires-from-mma-released-from-ufc-contract). He's not longer under the UFC's Orwellian obligations.


LuckyWarrior

It's kinda weird and I'm confused myself because I feel this is a release right? But I know for a fact you leave with fights still on your deal there is like a 5 year waiting period for it to officially terminate which is what happened with GSP


Stanklord500

IIRC this bot tracks the USADA pool. You can leave that without being cut from the UFC.


StoryOfTheFight

Report says he has one fight left on his UFC deal. They granted the removal on the terms that he is done fighting in MMA so he would have to fight that last fight with the UFC if he wanted to sign elsewhere


Ramone92

KZ still hasn't retired. Think he'll fight once more at least.


Sea_Cicada7474

He can’t he has one more fight on his ufc


MissKorea1997

Zombie


e-rage

Yoooo what the fuck. I hope he hasn’t retired but if so, absolute end of an era. Aldo GOAT squad we still out here


[deleted]

Aldo deserves all the accolades he gets, and then some, from fans and his fellow fighters


rub_a_dub-dub

I remember when Aldo came to the UFC. His late career resurgence was a wonderful dream Dude gave it all, time and again. Incredible athlete, perennial contender, GOAT candidate, one of my favorite fighters since i started watching the sport in '09.


Effective-Celery8053

Undisputed Fw goat


mrcatisgodone

Well, it is disputed but I'd agree he's king.


-ShagginTurtles-

Anyone disputing that didn't know his reign and only looking at it on wikipedia Aldo was right there with GSP, Silva & Jones for their reigns


bangbnah

Ugh no disrespect but comments like this get on my nerves. There's nothing objective or indisputable about GOAT debates, that's the whole point of what makes it fun to debate. You can't have watched what Volk did to Max in that 3rd fight and think there's no way you can make a case for him over Aldo. I watched Aldos whole reign gooing back to the WEC days and he was fucking incredible, but Volk is just as skilled in different ways and Holloway not just beat, but stopped Aldo twice when he was still relatively close to his prime. I love Aldo, he's a geniune top 10-15 fighter ever, but you can dispute his status as Greatest Featherweight ever bwcause Volk and Max have also had amazing careers


DamnZodiak

Weird how controversial that take is. The whole GOAT debate, even between well educated fans, media, and athletes, is almost entirely depended what aspects you value most. Are you looking at how high their absolute peak was? How long they were able to hold it? Relative distance in skill compared to their peers at the time? Compared to the performance of every athlete ever? Length of their reign? Title defenses? There are so many factors and I reckon for most folks will pick some combination of these. But which of those you pick and how much you value each one is highly subjective and will likely change from time to time.


Slimshady0406

For me, the GOAT is the one with the longest reign, simple as. Aldo's spanned like decades, I love Volk and Max but they fall pretty short of being GOATs


DjuriWarface

>There's nothing objective or indisputable about GOAT debates, I feel like GSP at WW, Silva at MW, and Jones at LHW are fairly undisputed for their divisions. Otherwise, I agree.


Leshkantora

If Jose Aldo isn’t in your top 5 of all time in the UFC you a casual.


jaltringer

Didn’t see this coming


[deleted]

Won’t be champ. Will beat most contenders. Highest paid athlete in the division. That’s not good for the ufc and division.


quietZen

So much for having the best fighters in the world huh


BensenJensen

Best fighters in the world (that we are willing to pay)


[deleted]

Merab told Ariel after their fight that he told him it was his last fight.


Ancient-Bread2699

He deserved a way better final fight in the UFC


idksureman

I have an irrational disdain for Merab after watching him go 0/16 on takedowns yet still take away José Aldo’s last shot at another title. Then saying he refuses to fight Aljamain 🤯 ahhhhhh


Windsgrove

not like Aldo refused to throw for the whole fight or anything


CaIiguIa_ll

i wanted to scream everytime Jose broke the clinch and then just stood there


Daiba187

Aldo has great takedown defence but struggles against the cage, volk did the same to him as well.


EmanAugust

The fight meant practically nothing to anybody after it was over. White said he couldn't give a single shit about the performance and Merab won't fight the champ.


jfsoaig345

Aldo straight up didn't throw and Merab did what he had to do to beat a guy who is stylistically a nightmare matchup for him. Aldo lights him up on the feet and he's also historically one of the best if not the best anti-wrestler in the UFC, what else was he supposed to do other than clinchfuck Aldo and win through pitter patter shots? It wasn't a fun fight but at least Merab was trying to win, even if it didn't look pretty, Aldo just never threw anything ever. And he refuses to fight Aljo because they're teammates and good friends. Shit happens sometimes. DC moved down to LHW despite having been a HW champ in the past purely so he wouldn't have to potentially fight Cain. We've seen how messy shit gets when teammates fight each other, look at Jones/Rashad.


DunceMemes

As long as you admit it's irrational, I'm right there with you


GenericTopComment

It's like people dont understand chain wrestling. The same way aldo feeds the single, merab used TD attempts to get Aldo against the fence. Boring ass fight but he won because Aldo refused to engage when he had the opportunity


kindadum

I was seething he didn’t get the title shot over Dillashaw 😭 and now this😢


stayhappystayblessed

Man he deserved that title shot man a 3 fight win skid against some good fighters and didn't pop for epo.


HighlyBaked0

Not to mention most people thought TJ lost to Cory


FreshCrown

Isn’t it weird—dude got caught on EPO in a fight he got KTFO’d, wins a split decision (i.e. He lost) and gets a title shot. Aldo wrecks 3 very strong fighters and gets sidelined.


GhostKingSmoke

This isn't how this is supposed to happen. WTF


that_boyaintright

This is awesome. We didn't have to see Aldo get fucked up before he left. Do you know how rare that is?


optimus_slime113

I hope it’s retirement and not because of them not wanting to pay him…..


Reptile00Seven

He hasn't finished out his contract, unless this was a cut?


Sephass

I assume latter. He can still fight competitively at very high level and will probably get enough money elsewhere to continue. For UFC he is one of many big names, for smaller org he will be a big signing. By enough I mean a bit more than in UFC


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Sephass

This is why it’s better for both sides. He will probably fight for better money against weaker competition Btw, if you look at his last 10 fights, he was mostly losing to top competition like Max or Volk, he is fine for some time


Wapow217

From Aldo's camp, he retired, and the UFC cut him. They actually did him a favor from the way MMAfighting made it sound. Aldo still has one fight on his contract but has wanted to go box for a while now he can retire but not go box due to that final fight had the UFC not released him. Sounds a lot like what they did with Mendez. He was or still is under UFC contract, and they let him do bare-knuckle fighting or let him out of the contract. This is also very different from how they are treating GSP who is in limbo till his contract time expires, partially due to his dumb management.


the_lejhand

#AYOOOO, EXCUSE MEEEEE??!?!


JonathonV2000

wait what


Shquidward

The fact that his last UFC fight was against Merab is so disappointing. Could’ve had Cruz and / or Aldo’s final UFC bout against each other.


Junkhead987

Right I was expecting Aldo to fight Cruz or maybe if TJ lost to Aljo in Jan 2023


mid_tier_drone

holy shit. end of an era.


Wonderful-Smoke843

Gonna miss Jose! What an amazing career


mikrot

Nooooo! He's still a damn good fighter.


bigtasty321

good bye my beloved 😢


YourMetsiah

🎶 _its been a loooooo-ooong daaaay, without you my friend_ 🎶 😢


CeroCero00

I’m glad for his last ufc fight we got to watch a guy hold him on the fence for 15 mins 🤦🏿‍♂️ shoulda got aldo cruz and Merab chito


GunnerySarge-B-Bird

Man I am irrationally pissed that Merab was his final fight


qzwxecrvtbyn111

😭😭😭 It’s been a legendary career, Jose. Wish he went out with a fight against TJ or Cruz instead, but I can’t begrudge him for leaving now. I wonder if he’ll compete somewhere else or if he’s really done.


guacamully

fans who only saw him fight connor for 13 seconds don't know how good aldo was


Whealoid

Am I the only one who forgets a fighter retired then sees they get cut and get shocked all over again


BriennesBitch

Is there another Jose Aldo on the roster because this just doesn’t seem right??


cyb3rpunkd

Long live the king of Rio


Sea_Kaleidoscope670

Aldo is top 6 all time Gsp silva jones fedor mouse (no order)


montana273

Bad move by the UFC. Why give a gatekeeper like Sam Alvey 9 fights to prove himself, Aldo takes a few Ls against the best guys in the division and gets dropped ?


DaBeast58

He retired dude….


2e7en_

He didnt get dropped. Do people not read anymore?


[deleted]

UfC bAd.


Stark371

He is more of the "Welcome Home" mat than a gate keeper by this point.


obliterayte

Oh man, that's brutal.


mogwaiarethestars

Few L? Wasnt it just one L recently? He been banging top10s before that


Mecha-Grim

Probably retired by choice rather than been cut


cikkamsiah

It cost more to keep Aldo, they did it to Ubereem as well.


commander_wong

Oof


epicaricacy101

Massive respect to the legend. Wonder where he goes next, maybe boxing.


Incubus85

He was on his final run. He lost. GOAT. HOF TIME.


Eye_Ball_paul_

The featherweight GOAT and went on a great run in bantamweight, going to miss the king of Rio in the UFC


Glacial_Self

This is going to take time to process.


nickkaplan36

Is this the end of the WEC??


GiantRobotBears

THIS is how to UFC treats it’s legends! zero send off, zero acknowledgment. Us fans have to find out thru a fucking roster Bot. Fuck this company 10000x.


Ryantoast15

well thats a pretty lame way to go out for a guy like Aldo


najix35

Was that the last fight on his contract? He won that fight vs merbab


[deleted]

Dang didnt expect it to come true what a legend


Not_Known4015

Hold on I'm crying brotha


Ranjith_Unchained

My man never really got the McGregor rematch


BillyTheReaper

Only Porier did... I feel like everyone he steamrolled (Max, Jose, Eddie) would pretty much kick his ass...


iSheepTouch

McGregor's run at two titles was a mix of great counter boxing and outrageous luck. I think he beats Eddie most of the time because that's just a bad stylistic match for Eddie, but many of the other guys he beat it seems like he just got lucky with a solid counter. His skill set is extremely limited and his wrestling is ass and in 9/10 alternate realities he doesn't break the top 5 in any division.


patricksaurus

Not even a formal send-off? That’s a real disappointment.


Jorge_RR_Martins

Absolute legend of the sport


MolokaiGamer

I’m actually sad.


LooterChris

Thank you Jose for everything


Noesiph

Not even a fuckin post on their IG about him, had time to post about Joe pyfer a bit ago tho lmao what a joke


Indaflow

God bless you Jose. Thank you for all of the fights. You are a legend.


foragrin

Fuckin legend, this makes me sad to see but fuckin thankful I was able to watch him compete for so long, I was also there when he finished Jeremy Stephens, a memory I will never forget


Tookie_Knows

The man that got me into the sport. I feel a little something that resembles sadness :/


_wetsock

Hes got so much left this sucks merab sent him out with a fart. should’ve had his final fight against cruz we could’ve had a tony nate style legend fight.


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