Jose Aldo Hospitalized In Rio De Janeiro

Jose Aldo has been hospitalized in his native Rio de Janeiro.

MMA Fighting confirmed the former UFC featherweight was hospitalized for a bacterial infection. He reportedly suffered a cut on his knee that became infected. Aldo was admitted to the Samaritano Hospital in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, this Wednesday.

Following two straight knockout wins over Jeremy Stephens and Renato Moicano, Aldo was scheduled to face rising competitor Alexander Volkanovski. The bout was slated for May 11’s UFC 37 pay-per-view in Curitiba, Brazil. That fight is not expected to be jeopardized by Aldo being hospitalized.

Aldo has experienced a career resurgence as of late. He’s repeated that he plans to fight out his current UFC contract and retire. If and when he heals in time to face Volkanovski, he’ll have a tough challenge on his hands.

‘The Great’ was last seen knocking out Aldo’s former rival Chad Mendes in a vicious back-and-forth war. He’s won 16 straight bouts overall. The Australian cuts a huge amount of weight to make the featherweight limit. He appears to be steamrolling his way to a title shot. He’s 6-0 including three stoppages in the UFC.

But Aldo appears to have summoned a renaissance back to his knockout-filled WEC days. For that reason, let’s hope he heals up in time to face ‘The Great’ this May.