Jose Aldo

José Aldo: Early Life, Championship & Net Worth

José Aldo is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who is signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

As of 2019, he competes in the bantamweight division.

However, from 2004 to 2019, he competed in the Featherweight division, where he had significant success.

The fighter was the fourth and final WEC Featherweight Champion from June 2009 to April 2010. Not to mention, he was the youngest champion in WEC history at 23 years old.

Likewise, he was the first UFC Featherweight Champion during the UFC/WEC merger. In fact, he has won the UFC Featherweight Championship two times.

Aldo as the UFC Featherweight Champion
Jose Aldo during his glorious UFC Featherweight Championship days.

He had a great first championship run with the most consecutive and successful title defense in UFC featherweight history.

Moreover, after his first MMA defeat in 2005, the fighter remained undefeated for over a decade. Thus, he suffered a second loss at the hands of Conor McGregor in 2015.

As of 2022, he has had 26 wins and 1 losses. Nonetheless, he is ranked as fourth in the UFC bantamweight rankings.

Similarly, Sherdogs referred to him as “the greatest featherweight in mixed martial arts history.”

Quick Facts

Full Name José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júnior
Birth Date September 9, 1986
Birth Place Manaus, Brazil
Nick Name Junior
Religion Not Available
Nationality Brazilian
Ethnicity Brazilian
Education Not Known
Horoscope Virgo
Father’s Name José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Sr.
Mother’s Name Rocilene Socorro Souza
Siblings Two
Age 37 Years Old
Height 5 ft 7 in
Weight 135 lb
Hair Color Black
Eye Color Black
Build Atheltic
Sports Mixed Martial Art
Team Nova União
Profession Mixed Martial Artist
Active Years 2004 – present
Highlights www.youtube.com
Career Earnings $10 Million
Marital Status Married
Wife Vivianne Aldo
Kids Joanna Aldo
Net Worth $15 million
Social Media Instagram, Facebook, Twitter
Merch Laminated Photo, UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor, UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes
Last Update March, 2024

José Aldo: Early Life, Family, and Education

Јоѕе Аldо was born in Manaus, Brazil to José Aldo Sr. and Rocilene Souza along with two sisters named Rosilene and Josilene.

At a family event, Jose’s elder sister threw the crib at another sister. Unfortunately, Jose was in the crib.

Further, his face landed on the barbecue, leaving a permanent scar on the left side of his face.

Further, his father was a construction worker, whom José started assisting when he was six-year-old.

Moreover, as a kid, he was passionate about football and wanted to play professionally.

Hence, he practiced in the streets, where he often encountered bullies leading into a fight.

Finally, after being frustrated with getting beaten up in rows, he started training capoeira.

Jose's childhood picture
Junior holding a childhood picture of him riding a bicycle on the streets.

Moreover, he started training on the streets alongside his friends. Due to this, he gained the attention of a Brazilian jiu-jitsu trainer.

Furthermore, the trainer offered him a session in jiu-jitsu, after which he decided to pursue a career in it.

Thus, at the age of 17, he moved to Rio with no money and just a pair of clothes to build a career in MMA. He joined Nova União academy, where he earned his black belt.

However, coming from a low-income family, he often showed up hungry in training. Nonetheless, realizing his situation, his trainer and friends used to offer him food.

In fact, his success story from rags to riches is so inspirational that a movie named Stronger than the World was made.

José Aldo: Age, Height, and Weight

The Ex-UFC Champion was born on September 9, 1986.

Hence, he is 37 Years Old. Being an athlete, he takes excellent care of his health and diet.

As a result, he hits the gym quite frequently and has a very toned physique.

Furthermore, Aldo is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 135 lb, i.e., 61 kg.

Side note, He has an extensive set of workout for his extensive professional work and also has a foot-long tattoo from his sister’s favorite verse in the bible.

You might be interested in reading about Fedor Emelianenko: Early Life, Championship & Net Worth.

José Aldo: MMA Career

MMA Debut, First Loss, and WEC Featherweight Champion

Junior made his MMA debut at age 17 against Mário Bigola at EcoFight 1 on August 10, 2004.

Further, within 18 seconds, Aldo connected a head kick to win his first fight.

Likewise, the fighter quickly cruised to six consecutive victories within a year.

Hence, he moved up a weight class to lightweight and fought Luciano Azevedo at Jungle Fight 5.

Despite maintaining a good fight in the first round, Aldo lost via a rear-naked choke in the second round.

Thus, he marked his first career loss and decided to return to featherweight.

Furthermore, his decision really proved to be fruitful as he instantly went on a winning streak.

Similarly, after winning three fights, he signed with World Extreme Cagefighting.

Moreover, the athlete came to US soil to compete against Alexandre Nogueira in WEC 34.

Quickly, he made a name for himself by taking down Nogueira in the second round.

He maintained his hot winning streak by beating three more fighters.

Therefore, he earned a WEC Featherweight title elimination fight where the winner gets a shot at the title.

The bout finished within eight seconds into the first round, where José delivered a double flying knee to secure the victory.

As a result, he earned a title match against Mike Brown in WEC 44 on November 18, 2009. Over a minute into the second round, Aldo took down Brown to claim his title victory.

Henceforth, at just 23 years and 70 days old, he became the youngest WEC featherweight champion.

UFC Debut, Title Reigns, and Title Loss

After successfully defending his title twice, WEC merged with UFC. Hence, Junior was promoted to the UFC Featherweight Champion.

Likewise, he was set to make his first UFC debut and title defense at UFC 125. But unfortunately, Jose was forced to withdraw after sustaining a neck injury.

Nonetheless, the champion made his UFC debut and first title defense at UFC 129.

Further, he defeated his opponent Mark Hominick in a bout that earned Fight of Night honors.

Likewise, his bout with Frankie Edgar earned another Fight of Night honors after two more title defenses.

Alod's suecessful title defenses
José Aldo retaining his belt against Frankie Edgar in their UFC interim featherweight championship bout.

Moreover, there was no stopping the Brazillian champion as his winning streak continued. Similarly, he defended his title for the seventh time against Chad Mendes.

As expected, he won the fight, which earned Fight of Night honors.

Hence, he had the most consecutive and successful title defense in UFC featherweight history with this victory.

However, the champion couldn’t win his eighth title defense as he lost to Conor McGregor.

When he was ready to face Conor, he also faced some controversy concerning his urine test.

Furthermore, the Irishman won the title bout within thirteen seconds into the first round.

Therefore, the Brazilian UFC fighter faced his second loss in over a decade after eighteen consecutive victories.

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Second Title Victory and Bantamweight Debut

After six months of losing the title, he had a rematch with Frankie Edgar for the interim UFC Featherweight Championship.

Aldo won the bout by unanimous decision to fight McGregor for the title.

However, due to inconsistency in defending the featherweight belt, McGregor was stripped of the title.

As a result, Junior was promoted to the undisputed UFC Featherweight Champion.

However, José’s victory was short-lived as he lost the title to Max Holloway after a year of winning it.

Despite the loss, Aldo won his fourth Fight of the Night bonus award.

Nonetheless, he got his rematch against Holloway after five months at UFC 218.

Much like the last bout, José found success in the first round before losing the momentum and getting knocked out in the third round.

Hence, he failed to reclaim his title and marked his fourth career loss in doing so.

Nevertheless, the fighter had two more victories after losing to Alexander Volkanovski.

Following the loss, he moved his weight class to bantamweight. Thus, on December 14, 2019, he made his bantamweight debut and lost via split decision.

Moreover, six months after, he returned to compete for the vacant UFC Bantamweight Championship. Further, he lost the bout to Petr Yan via TKO in the fifth round.

Likewise, he had his first win in the bantamweight division against Marlon Vera on December 19, 2020.

However, a controversy rises when he fought Petr Yan. Many speculated that the referee stopped the fight too little late when Yan knocked out José.

Some of José’s Best Fights

Aldo has had some of the best fights with the opponents, Alexander Gustafsson, Daniel Cormier, Vitor Belfort, Lyoto Machida, and many more.

José has primarily gone for striking rather than grappling.

The payout for Aldo varies from $350,000 to $900,000.

Achievements and Honors

  • Two-time UFC Featherweight Champion
  • Most successful title defenses (Seven) in UFC featherweight history
  • One-time interim UFC Featherweight Champion
  • Most consecutive title defenses (Seven) in UFC featherweight history
  • The youngest fighter to win a championship in WEC history at 23 years and 70 days
  • Most consecutive wins in WEC history with 8 consecutive wins
  • Four-time Fight of the Night Honors
  • Two-time Performance of the Night Honors
  • Three-time Knockout of the Night Honors
  • One-time Sherdog’s Fighter of the Year in 2009
  • Sherdog’s Mixed Martial Arts Hall of Fame
  • One-time Charles “Mask” Lewis Fighter of the Year in 2010
  • Blue belt at World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 2001
  • Purple belt at Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 2003

José Aldo: Marriage and Family

José Aldo is married to his long-time girlfriend and a fellow fighter Vivianne Aldo. Further, Mrs. Aldo is also a professional mixed martial artist from Brazil.

Likewise, she holds a purple belt in jiu-jitsu and has fought twice in a sports promotion company, Muay Thai.

The couple’s story began when they met at a dojo in Rio. Instantly, they liked each other, so the acquaintance soon developed into a romantic relationship.

Aldo's wife and Kids
The Aldo family enjoying their time in Disney World.

Hence, after dating for a bit, the couple decided to officiate their relationship.

As a result, they got married in a lovely wedding ceremony in 2005 held in Rio.

However, the couple was still focused on building their career rather than expanding their family.

Thus, they waited for José to reach a certain height in his career to become a parent.

Finally, after becoming the WEC Featherweight Champion, the couple welcomed their beautiful daughter Joanna in 2012.

José Aldo: Net Worth and Salary

The Brazilian fighter has built an enormous wealth throughout his MMA career.

Aldo has accumulated a net worth of $15 million.

Similarly, he has estimated career earnings of $10,000,000 from his MMA bouts.

On top of that, the boxer earns a fair amount through endorsements and sponsorships.

In fact, he has endorsement deals with a leading footwear and clothing company Reebok.

Further, he has signed a personal endorsement deal with Flamengo, a Brazilian soccer club.

Not to mention, he is a huge fan of the team and supports them since his childhood.

After being signed, he quotes, “It’s a dream that’s been realized,.”

Moreover, Junior lives in a lavish house alongside his wife and daughter. Not to mention, he also has multiple car collections.

You might be interested in reading about Deontay Wilder: Heavyweight Champion & Net Worth.

José Aldo: Social Media Presence

The former UFC featherweight champion is active on various social media platforms.

Further, he has over 2.7 million followers on his Instagram handle.

Moreover, he shares multiple pictures and videos of his wife and daughter.

Similarly, he also posts pictures of his glorious championship days and various training done in the gym.

Likewise, he also has a Twitter account with over 940.1 thousand followers. Furthermore, he mostly tweets about fighting-related news.

The fighter also has a Facebook account.

All in all, he loves to share his daily life on social media with his beloved fans.

FAQS

Why did José Aldo turn down the rematch against McGregor?

In an interview, José claimed that he didn’t turn down the fight. His coach did. Further, no details were provided as to why his coach declined the rematch.

Will José Aldo fight again?

Yes, the former UFC featherweight champion will step into the octagon as of November 2021. In fact, he is optimistic about winning the bantamweight championship by the end of this year.

How many times did Aldo defend his belt?

José Aldo defended his title against some of the best fighters seven times.

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