After two straight losses to Max Holloway, former Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo has all the motivation he needs to return to the win column. A surging Jeremy Stephens on a three-fight winning streak stands in his way in the UFC on Fox 30 headliner on Saturday at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta.
17: Years of age when he made his professional debut at Eco Fight Championship 1 in August 2004. The former soccer player knocked out countryman Mario Bigola with head kick 18 seconds into the first round.
10: Years between losses, from Nov. 26, 2005 to Dec. 12, 2015. In that stretch, Aldo went 18-0.
11: First-round finishes on his resume. Aldo started his career with seven straight stoppages in the first round, all in regional competition. He has added three more in World Extreme Cagefighting and another in the UFC.
2: Victories via soccer kicks. Not one to shy away from his roots, Aldo scored back-to-back soccer-kick knockouts of compatriots Aritano Silva Barbosa and Anderson Silverio.
3: Knockouts via knee strikes, starting with Rolando Perez at WEC 38. A highlight-reel knockout of Cub Swanson followed at WEC 41, along with a KO of Chad Mendes at UFC 142.
23: Years of age when he became a WEC champion. Aldo was the youngest titleholder in the promotion’s history and made successful title defenses against Manny Gamburyan and Urijah Faber.
4: “Fight of the Night” awards won. Aldo has engaged in numerous epic fights, and the UFC cited his bouts with Mendes, Holloway, Mark Hominick and Frankie Edgar as some of the best.
8: Wins without a loss in the WEC. After beating Shoji Maruyama under the Pancrase flag in 2007, Aldo was signed by the American promotion. He debuted at WEC 34 with a win over fellow Brazilian Alexandre Franca Nogueira and snatched the featherweight title from Mike Thomas Brown at WEC 44.
7: Title defenses in the UFC, marking the longest featherweight reign in the promotion’s history. With Zuffa’s purchase of the WEC, Aldo was promoted to UFC featherweight champion on Nov. 20, 2010. He defended the title against Hominick, Mendes (twice), Edgar, Kenny Florian, Chan Sung Jung and Ricardo Lamas before losing to Conor McGregor at UFC 194.
2: Awards from Sherdog. After capping 2009 with the WEC featherweight title around his waist, Aldo was named “Fighter of the Year.” The following year, he found his way to the website’s All-Violence Team.