5 Defining Moments: Jose Aldo

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Less than seven months removed from starching Jeremy Stephens, Jose Aldo is back inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship against another tough opponent. At UFC Fight Night 144, he will face off against countryman Renato Carneiro. Will the Brazilian come out with another blistering performance? “Scarface” has had many in his career, and here are five moments that stand out.

1. WEC Dominance

Aldo was a young prospect sporting a 9-1 record when he signed a five-fight deal with World Extreme Cagefighting. While he had traveled the globe fighting, it would mark his first time in the United States. His first assignment was Alexandre Franca Nogueira, whom he defeated by TKO in the second round. “Scarface” followed it up with seven more victories, six of which were by stoppage. At WEC 44, he stopped Mike Thomas Brown to capture the WEC featherweight championship, which he defended twice before it was promoted to a UFC title.

2. Octagon Debut

As a result of the WEC-UFC merger, Aldo was promoted to UFC featherweight champion, formally receiving the belt on Nov. 20, 2010. He made his first title defense against a very game Mark Hominick, and although the Canadian took it to the Brazilian in the last round, he would not be denied of a successful promotional debut. In a fight that left Hominick with a nasty lump on his forehead, Aldo connected 94 significant strikes along with five takedowns.

3. First Superfight

After suffering back-to-back losses to Benson Henderson, Frankie Edgar dropped to 145 and was given an immediate title shot. This was a welcome development to Aldo, who was missing a legitimate superfight on his résumé. It was champion versus former champion at UFC 156. In what was his toughest title defense yet, Aldo controlled most of the bout and thwarted a late rally from his challenger to score a hard-earned victory.

4. Hawaiian Overload

Aldo and Max Holloway engaged in a title unification bout at UFC 212. After taking the first two rounds, “Scarface” lost by TKO in the third stanza. Their rematch at UFC 218 went pretty much like the first as the Brazilian found early success before getting knocked out once again in the third frame. Following that second loss, he sat down with his team to discuss retirement.

5. Pushing Forward

Aldo had previously shown that he can come back from a staggering loss when he beat Frankie Edgar after getting knocked out by Conor McGregor. But this time, he had endured two TKO defeats at the hands of Holloway. In his first non-title fight in over nine years, he hit Stephens with a hard left hook to the body that crumpled the American. From there, “Scarface” rained down more punches until referee Yves Lavigne had seen enough.