Jose Aldo has his latest marching orders, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship did him no favors.

Holding steady as the No. 3 featherweight in the latest Sherdog.com divisional rankings, Aldo will carry a two-fight losing streak -- both defeats were to reigning 145-pound champion Max Holloway -- into his UFC on Fox 30 showdown with the hard-hitting Jeremy Stephens on July 28 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta. Aldo was once the crown jewel of the featherweight division, but the 31-year-old Brazilian has gone 1-3 since beating Chad Mendes in their October 2014 rematch, his UFC 200 win over Frankie Edgar offset by a 13-second knockout loss to Conor McGregor and the back-to-back setbacks against Holloway. Whether he can recapture some of his past magic at Stephens’ expense remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, the next month will provide further clarity in multiple divisions. Amanda Nunes will defend her women’s bantamweight crown against Raquel Pennington in the UFC 224 main event on May 12 in Rio de Janeiro; surging welterweight Kamaru Usman will lock horns with 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist Demian Maia atop UFC Fight Night 129 on May 19 in Santiago, Chile; Rafael Carvalho will put his Bellator MMA middleweight championship on the line against Gegard Mousasi in the Bellator 200 co-headliner on May 25 in London; and the unbeaten Darren Till will take on perennial 170-pound contender Stephen Thompson in the marquee matchup at UFC Fight Night 130 on May 27 in Liverpool, England.

Continue Reading » Heavyweight