That’s when they came in with Jonathan Martinez, a 30-year-old who was climbing the rankings and riding a four-game winning streak. Of Martinez’s 19 professional victories, nine have come by knockout, and two of them have come from leg kicks. It’s a challenge for Aldo, but one that gets all the good juices flowing.
“My body needed this,” Aldo said. “MMA training is hard. It’s very difficult. You have to train all areas, dedicate yourself to them all. Boxing is different, because it only involves the upper body, so the training wasn’t as… exhausting for me and my body. I think it was good.
MORE UFC 301: Get to know Steve Erceg | Get to know Alexandre Pantoja | Fight by fight breakdown | On the rise
Aldo believes the time he spent focusing on boxing – which he trained three times a day – will be the biggest difference from the last time UFC fans saw him seen in the Octagon, as his fight with Dvalishvili mainly featured his excellent defensive fighting. .
Regardless of the stylistic matchup, Aldo is well aware of where he stands among his fellow Brazilians on the map. Fight week featured plenty of handshakes, exchanges of hugs and smiles for photos with starry-eyed fans and fighters. This is always the case when Aldo enters a building, especially in Rio de Janeiro. But he’s also here to pick up one more win before perhaps closing out his MMA career for good. Aldo skates around calling the fight his “goodbye” to the UFC, but as legends get older, it’s always something on everyone’s mind.
“I think everyone thought I was doing my last fight, like a farewell match, but no, I’m very prepared. I trained hard because of this… I am ready to show the best version of José Aldo.
