After suffering back-to-back KO losses to Max Holloway, Jose Aldo mounted a stoppage of his own, a TKO victory over Jeremy Stephens at UFC on Fox 30. However, the fact remains that Aldo has two losses to the current champion and may need to step back a little and watch as other contenders vie for the belt.
One of them is the surging Renato Carneiro, whose only loss in the Ultimate Fighting Championship was to recent title challenger, Brian Ortega. As Aldo devises a plan to stop his countryman and regain lost sheen, read about the numbers that cemented his legacy in mixed martial arts.
17: Years old when he moved from his hometown of Manaus to Rio de Janeiro to further his fighting skills. It was also at this age when he entered in his first professional MMA tournament.
16: Seconds was all he needed to impress fans after knocking out fellow newcomer Mario Bigola In the first round. Aldo unleashed a devastating head kick to end Bigola’s night early at EcoFight 1.
7: Straight victories without a loss to start his career. In that long stretch, he beat future UFC standout Phil Harris in an event called UK-1 Fight Night held in Portsmouth, England.
18: Consecutive wins without a loss before being knocked out by Conor McGregor. Before that landmark bout at UFC 194, his last defeat was to Luciano Azevedo, who choked him out at Jungle Fight 5.
5: Post-fight bonuses earned in the UFC. Aldo has collected a total of $250,000 in bonus money after four Fight of the Night awards and one Performance of the Night award.
8: Fights in World Extreme Cagefighting, where he went undefeated. Aldo fought in the promotion from June 2008 (WEC 34) to Sept. 2010 (WEC 51). He won the featherweight championship with a Knockout of the Night performance against Mike Brown and successfully defended it against Uriah Faber and Manvel Gamburyan.
77: Significant strikes landed on Faber in their WEC 48 headliner. He peppered Faber with leg kicks on his way to earning a lopsided decision victory.
12: First-round finishes. Aldo’s seven initial victories came via first-round stoppage, so he had built an impressive reputation early in his career. In the WEC and UFC, he scored first-round finishes over Rolando Perez, Chris Mickle, Cub Swanson, Chad Mendes and most recently, Jeremy Stephens.
8: Seconds to beat Swanson in their title eliminator at WEC 41. He dropped his opponent with a flying knee and followed it up with punches until referee Steve Mazzagatti had seen enough.
2: Weight divisions in which he has fought in. Apart from featherweight where he now resides, Aldo also fought at lightweight. However, it was at 145 where he shone the brightest, having captured the WEC and UFC titles.
32: Years of age. Aldo was born on Sept. 9, 1986 in Manaus, Brazil. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Andre Pederneiras is one of the all-time greats at Nova Uniao.