UFC 301’s co-main event featured the return of all-time great Jose Aldo who faces the upcoming contender Jonathan Martinez.
Jose Aldo vs. Jonathan Martinez Fight Preview
Jose Aldo makes his first walk back to the Octagon since August of 2022. He left the sport to pursue a career in boxing, which he found much success in up to this point. Despite this, a part of Aldo wanted to return to his roots and the UFC where it all started. Before a disappointing Unanimous Decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili, Aldo was on a very impressive three-fight win streak against Rob Font, Pedro Munhoz, and recent title challenger Marlon Vera. Even though Aldo is past his prime, his departure came as a surprise to many and his return has excited many MMA fans who missed seeing Aldo’s performances in the cage. The King of Rio looks to return in style with his home crowd cheering him on.
Facing the legend of the sport is the surging Jonathan Martinez, who’s won his last six appearances in the Octagon. After a 4-3 start in the promotion, Martinez settled in and started to find his rhythm in the UFC. Martinez is one of the very few fighters with multiple leg kick TKO’s, with two in his last three fights. Wins over Adrian Yanez, Said Nurmagomedov, and Cub Swanson have shown the growth of Martinez throughout his career, and he looks to capitalize on those wins and pick up the biggest of his career at UFC 301.
Fight Recap
Martinez looked to get to his patent leg kicks early while Jose Aldo went to his slick boxing and began throwing to the head and body. Both men respected what the other had to offer and stayed at range early, looking to work their specialties. Aldo was starting to find success with some quick flurries of offense with his hands, but Martinez was content to stay in kicking range. Aldo landed some big hooks and a knee that scraped off the head of Martinez before landing a big leg kick.
The second round started with the two exchanging leg kicks before Aldo landed another quick combination of hooks. Martinez shot for a takedown but was denied and proceeded to hold Aldo against the cage until the referee separated them due to a lack of anything happening. Some big shots were exchanged after the break with Aldo getting the better of the exchanges. Aldo loaded up with some heavy shots and the fans rained down Aldo chants from the crowd. The round ended with a nice knee up the middle by the former champion while Martinez landed some nice punches.
Martinez went back to the leg kicks to start the round but was still being caught by some quick shots from Aldo. Martinez looked to land some elbows and draw on Aldo’s gas tank with some big pressure but was being countered at will. The boxing from Martinez started to pick up volume as the round went on, and he was having more success than he had throughout the entire fight. With two minutes left in the round Aldo stunned the younger fighter and pounced on him, landing some beautiful follow-up shots. Aldo stayed calm and landed a big takedown where he controlled the fight to the end.
UFC Fighters React to Jose Aldo’s Dominant Return
The scorecards read 30-27 across the board for “The King of Rio” Jose Aldo in his comeback fight.
Were you pumped to see Jose Aldo return to the cage in style? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured Image Credit to Embed from Getty Images
