Jose Aldo’s retirement fight couldn’t have been any crazier at UFC 315.
The former two-time UFC Featherweight Champion has already retired once before, back in 2022 against Merab Dvalishvili, doing it again in Canada after back-to-back losses.
Coming up short to Mario Bautista in his last time out at UFC 307, Jose Aldo tried to rebound against Georges St-Pierre’s teammate Aiemann Zahabi in a featherweight bout at UFC 315 on Saturday, which was originally scheduled for bantamweight but changed due to Aldo being unable to make 136lbs.
Despite the last-minute change-up in weight, Zahabi poured it on Aldo with a near-finish in the third round to secure him a blockbuster decision victory—the fight praised by GSP in his corner.
Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
The scenes of Aldo vs. Zahabi were all-action, especially in round 3 with both men just a few shots away from getting the knockout stoppage.
“It was like a rocky movie fight scenario,” UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre said of Zahabi’s fight against Aldo.
“Congrats Aiemann…”
Aldo had Zahabi on the run for a moment, dropping him with a brutal head kick as he was on his way up to the feet.
In the second half of round 3, it was the fresher Zahabi who had Aldo on the ropes. Visibly fatigued, Aldo struggled to stay in the fight when Zahabi poured on the pressure. Aldo gave up top control after a desperate takedown attempt with Zahabi chasing the finish on the ground.
Punch after punch, elbow after elbow, Zahabi bloodied Aldo on the canvas until the final bell sounded.
With the biggest win of his career, a ‘Rocky’ moment in his hometown of Montreal, Canada, Zahabi will be nearing the top-10 rankings come Tuesday.
Zahabi’s on one of the longest win streaks in the bantamweight division at 5, and it would’ve been 6 had Aldo weighed in at 136lbs.
In his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, Zahabi would call out former title challenger, the #7-ranked Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.
Vera is currently booked to fight Mario Bautista at UFC 316 on June 7th. Win, lose or draw, that’s who Zahabi wants next.
Like Zahabi, Vera went the distance with Aldo in Dec. 2020 but lost by unanimous decision.
Aiemann ZahabiGeorges St-PierreJose AldoUFCUFC 315
