José Aldo: the King of Rio and his seven UFC title defences | Ultimate Fighter Reunion

Why fans still care

JOSÉ ALDO ruled the featherweight division for years. He was the WEC champion, then the first UFC champion at 145 lb, and he won 18 straight fights from 2006 to 2014. ESPN calls him the longest-reigning featherweight champion in UFC history.

Early life

He was born on 9 September 1986 in Manaus, in Brazil’s Amazonas state, and grew up playing street football. “I’d play all day and dream of one day playing professionally,” he said. He started capoeira at 14, then moved to jiu-jitsu, and in 2003 he won gold at the Brazilian jiu-jitsu championships. He later moved to Rio de Janeiro to fight, sleeping on the gym mats in his early days there.

Getting started

He won most of his early fights in Brazil and the UK. His only loss in that stretch came in 2005, and he didn’t lose again until 2015. He made his US debut at WEC 34 in June 2008.

Career chapters

1. 2008WEC debut
2. 2009Knocks out Cub Swanson in eight seconds, then wins the WEC featherweight title
3. 2010Beats Urijah Faber and becomes the first UFC featherweight champion
4. 2011 to 2014Seven UFC title defences
5. 2015Loses the title to Conor McGregor at UFC 194
6. 2016Wins the interim title against Frankie Edgar
7. 2017Loses twice to Max Holloway, Who’s Who number 3
8. 2019Moves to bantamweight
9. 2022Retires for the first time
10. 2023UFC Hall of Fame
11. 2024 to 2025Returns to MMA, then retires again

WEC champion 2008 to 2010

At WEC 41 in June 2009 he stopped Cub Swanson with a flying knee and punches in eight seconds. In November 2009 he stopped Mike Brown in the second round to win the WEC featherweight title, at 23. At WEC 48 in April 2010, the WEC’s first pay-per-view, he kicked Urijah Faber’s lead leg for five rounds, sweeping him off his feet several times, and won a unanimous decision. “It was impossible to get something going when he’s attacking like that,” Faber said.

UFC champion 2010 to 2015

When the WEC merged into the UFC in October 2010 he became the UFC’s first featherweight champion. He defended the title seven times: against Mark Hominick, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes (a knee knockout at the end of the first round), Frankie Edgar, Chan Sung Jung, Ricardo Lamas and Mendes again. The Mendes rematch at UFC 179 in Rio in October 2014 was ESPN’s Fight of the Year. Mendes dropped him in the first round, and he came back to win 49-46 on all three cards. On 12 December 2015 at UFC 194 in Las Vegas, Conor McGregor knocked him out in 13 seconds.

Interim title and bantamweight 2016 to 2022

He beat Frankie Edgar again at UFC 200 in 2016 for the interim title and was later elevated to champion. In 2017 he lost twice to Max Holloway, Who’s Who number 3, first at UFC 212 in Rio, then in the rematch. He beat Jeremy Stephens and Renato Moicano, then lost to Alexander Volkanovski, Who’s Who number 32. In 2019 he moved down to bantamweight. He lost to Petr Yan for the vacant title in 2020, then beat Marlon Vera, Who’s Who number 10, Pedro Munhoz and Rob Font. He retired in September 2022.

Hall of Fame and the last fights 2023 to now

In January 2023 the UFC named him to its Hall of Fame. He was inducted that July alongside Anderson Silva, Who’s Who number 13. He boxed professionally during his time away from MMA, then returned to the UFC in 2024 and beat Jonathan Martinez in Rio. After losses to Mario Bautista and Aiemann Zahabi he retired in the cage in May 2025. “I just don’t have it in my heart anymore,” he said. In October 2026 in Quito he had a 10-minute submission-only grappling match with Marlon Vera, Who’s Who number 10, which ended in a draw.

Style, technique and the corner

How he fights

He’s a striker who fights from an orthodox stance, and his two best tools were the low leg kick and the left hook to the liver. Against Faber he attacked the lead leg until Faber could barely stand. He had real power in his knees too, as Swanson and Mendes found out. At UFC 163 he saw that Jung’s shoulder had separated, kicked, took him down and punched until the referee stopped it. UFC.com credits him with 93 per cent career takedown defence.

Teams and gyms

He trained in jiu-jitsu in Manaus, then spent his career at Nova União in Rio de Janeiro under André Pederneiras.

Stories people still tell

1. Eight seconds.

   His flying knee on Cub Swanson is tied for the second-fastest knockout in UFC and WEC featherweight history.

2. Faber’s leg.

   His low kicks at WEC 48 left one of the sport’s biggest stars barely able to stand.

3. Thirteen seconds.

   McGregor ended his 18-fight winning streak with one punch.

Legacy

He was the first UFC featherweight champion and is in the UFC Hall of Fame. Alexander Volkanovski, Who’s Who number 32, a later featherweight champion, calls him the division’s greatest. ”...made me want to be a great champion, too,” Volkanovski said.