Jose Aldo was brought to tears Saturday night when it was announced the mixed martial arts luminary will be enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame later this year as part of the Class of 2023.
The organization made the announcement during the pay-per-view broadcast for UFC 283, which took place in Aldo’s native Brazil.
Aldo was a former UFC and WEC 145-pound champion, considered among the greatest pound-for-pound talents in MMA history.
The 36-year-old announced his retirement from MMA this past September.
Aldo has spent his entire adult life fighting professionally, finishing his UFC career with a 13-7 record and going 31-8 in MMA overall. He holds several featherweight records including most wins, title victories, knockouts, and boasts the best all-time takedown defence among many other notable achievements.
From his iconic eight-second flying double-knee knockout of Cub Swanson to winning the featherweight championship in his early 20s, Aldo’s undefeated run in the defunct World Extreme Cagefighting organization was the stuff of legends.
Aldo defended his title, which became the UFC title when the two promotions merged in 2011, a record nine times.
A pioneer for smaller fighters competing below lightweight, Aldo did not lose while competing at 145 pounds until December 2015 when he lost to Conor McGregor in the main event of 194.
After that, Aldo won the vacant title the following year after McGregor had moved up a division. He was on the losing end of a two-fight series with Max Holloway and went the distance with current featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski before he moved down in weight. Aldo would pick up a handful of impressive wins at 135 pounds but fell short in his lone bantamweight title fight.
Aldo is the first member of the Class of 2023. The official induction ceremony is scheduled to take place during International Fight Week in Las Vegas this summer.
