Photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC (Getty Images)
Jose Aldo at his peak was as dominant as any mixed martial artist in history, and while he became something of a diminished force as he drifted into his 30s, he remains one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s premier attractions at 145 pounds.
The Nova Uniao cornerstone will face Renato Carneiro in the UFC Fight Night 144 co-main event on Saturday at Centro de Formacao Olimpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil, where he poses a serious threat to a contender on the rise in the featherweight division. Aldo, 32, last fought at UFC on Fox 30 in July, when he cut down Jeremy Stephens with first-round punches and put an end to the first two-fight losing streak of his career.
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As Aldo makes final preparations for his showdown with Carneiro, here are five things you should know about him:
1. He has a championship pedigree.
Aldo is one of three men—Conor McGregor and Max Holloway are the others—who have captured the undisputed UFC featherweight championship. The Brazilian spent 2,037 days at the top across two title reigns, the first lasting from Nov. 20, 2010 to Dec. 12, 2015, the second from Nov. 26, 2016 to June 3, 2017.
2. Judges admire his work.
A longtime protégé of Andre Pederneiras, Aldo has never lost a decision. He owns a 10-0 record in fights that have gone the distance, including wins over Frankie Edgar (twice), Chad Mendes, Ricardo Lamas, Kenny Florian, and Urijah Faber.
3. He was virtually unbeatable at the height of his power.
Aldo once went more than a decade between losses. He submitted to a rear-naked choke from Luciano Azevedo in November 2005 and did not taste defeat again until he was knocked out by McGregor in December 2015.
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4. Statistics bear out his greatness.
Sustained excellence put Aldo’s name all over the FightMetric record books. He ranks second on the UFC’s all-time list among featherweights in takedown defense (.906), sixth in significant strikes landed (680), seventh in total strikes landed (794), 10th in knockdowns landed (four) and 10th in significant strike defense (.649).
5. He has racked up the miles.
Aldo has fought in five different countries: the United States, Brazil, England, Canada, and Japan. He has gone 12-2 in the U.S., 10-2 in Brazil, 2-0 in England, 2-0 in Canada and 1-0 in Japan.
