In 2023, Jose Aldo will most likely grace the boxing ring.
At UFC 278, Aldo lost to Merab Dvalishvili, and he thereafter declared his retirement from mixed martial arts. He made it clear, though, that he was done with mixed martial arts and, if possible, would prefer to enter a boxing match instead.
“I’m trying to see the best path I’ll take right now,” Aldo previously said to MMA Fighting.
“I won’t fight MMA, that’s for sure. I thank everybody calling me from other promotions, but I haven’t left the UFC, I remain under contract with them. I’ll see where I’ll fit… Boxing is a possibility.
“It was always a dream I had in my life, I never hid that from anyone. It was always a dream. But let’s see. Everybody says I’m still young, that I have a few years [left]. First, for now, with the birth of my son, I want to enjoy my family, and then I’ll think of the professional side.”
Hardcore Boxing’s director, Anatoliy Sulyanov, predicts that Aldo will probably make his boxing debut in Dubai in 2023, though an opponent has not yet been chosen.
“On March 18th there will be a big Hardcore Boxing event in Dubai. I’m not going to tell you the names yet, but Jose Aldo and most likely even Sergey “Crusher” Kovalev will be on the card. Aldo will fight with 99.9 percent probability, we’re negotiating with Sergey now,” Sulyanov said.
One of the best featherweight fighters of all time had his final run in the bantamweight division.
He wanted to earn another gold to his resume, but after earning three victories in a row against the division’s top contenders, Merab Dvalishvili stopped his winning column.