Jose Aldo Wants To Walk Away On His Terms

Jose Aldo will be taking on Renato Moicano in the co-main event of this weekend’s UFC on ESPN+ 2 card in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Many fans were surprised when UFC President Dana White said Aldo had requested the co-main event slot in favor of a five-round fight.

Aldo Doesn’t Want To Be Stuck

Speaking with Portal do Vale Tudo, Aldo dropped another bombshell. That is, the greatest featherweight to ever live no longer cares about collecting belts.

“If I fight for the title and win, my contract pretty much gets renewed on its own,” Aldo said (translation via Bloody Elbow). “Then Dede (Pederneiras) will have to step in and negotiate, which is exactly what I don’t want to happen, I don’t want to be stuck.”

“My goal is to fight in Fortaleza. Then in May. And then end it here (in Rio de Janeiro). Because I know there’ll be another card here, and they know that” Aldo continued. “There’s no reason for them to give me a title shot. But make no mistake, I’ll make it hard for everyone who steps in front of me, I’ll win all three fights.”

Free Agency Or Retirement

Whether or not Aldo is giving some early warning signs of a fighter looking forward to free agency remains to be seen. The former two-time featherweight champ insists that retirement and family are the motivating factors for his decision.

“I want to stop and not spend my money getting my health back,” he said. “Today, I’m spending my money to be healthy. I want to feel well. I want to enjoy seeing my daughter grow. Travel with my family. Smile, play, I don’t want to fight into my forties and performing badly like I see so many of our great idols do. I programmed my entire life to be financially stable so I could stop whenever I felt like it.”

You can watch all of Aldo’s interview with Portal do Vale Tudo below.