Jose Aldo is one of the most decorated fighters to ever compete under the UFC banner and he is still motivated by championship gold at 34 years old.
And that’s despite not having won inside the Octagon since February, 2019.
The former UFC and WEC featherweight king is currently on a three-fight losing skid, suffering defeat to current UFC 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski, Marlon Moraes, and UFC bantamweight titleholder Petr Yan.
Aldo is looking to get his MMA career back on track against a tough challenger in Marlon “Chito” Vera on Saturday night at UFC Apex in Las Vegas and believes his aforementioned loss to Yan has given him the chance to reset in MMA.
“I feel now like it’s the restart of my career,” the Brazilian said during the UFC Fight Night 183 media day. “I feel like it’s the first fight of my career. I’m not feeling any pressure because I always fight with great fighters. I just keep training hard and get ready for my next opponent. I’m not feeling any pressure.”
Aldo, had moments of success in the early stages of his Fight Island tilt against Yan at UFC 251. However, the Russian surged in that contest while Aldo appeared to fatigue and wilt under the pressure put on him.
Despite the disappointment of defeat, “Junior” believes he has what it takes to get back into title contention at bantamweight and become one of few fighters to hoist up UFC championship gold in two weight classes.
“What keeps me motivated is the victory,” Aldo stated. “I’m training hard because I want to be a champion at my new division. That’s my motivation every day.”
