Already a UFC legend, Jose Aldo is still on the hunt for the title, with Rob Font standing in his way

Jose AldoHis first fight in Las Vegas was over 12 years ago: a WEC featherweight title fight against Mike Brown on November 18, 2009.

The WEC held a series of open exercises that week inside the Palms Casino Resort, and Aldo, 23, was in tears while speaking to the media. For an impoverished child from Sao Paulo, Brazil, seeing his own face on a billboard in Las Vegas was overwhelming.

On Saturday, Aldo (July 30) will make his seventh appearance in Las Vegas when he joins Rob Font (19-4) in the main event of UFC Fight Night.

The 35-year-old Aldo is a living legend of the sport, a former champion whose longevity is something to admire. Back in 2009, when Aldo beat Brown to become the WEC champion, it began a reign that would move into the UFC and stretch through nine title defenses until being dethroned in 2015. Aldo’s game at the top of the sport begins, his opponent for this weekend, Font, is literally delivering pizza for a living and hopefully getting into community college.

That was the time when Aldo competed at the highest level of MMA.

When a boxer is successful in the long run, the question inevitably turns to: How much longer can he do it? Aldo has faced that question for the past few years. England have lost six of nine matches between 2015 and 2020, four of those losses have come by knockout. At one point, he talked about leaving the sport at the age of 30.

However, in the past two fights, Aldo looks like a boxer with a lot to offer. He defeated two ranked opponents in Marlon Vera and Pedro Munhoz. And if you look closely at his achievements, except for one narrow loss Marlon Moraes, Aldo is gone only one to current or former UFC champions. The best of the best.

Aldo had reached the inevitable point in his career, when suspicion followed him everywhere. Fair or not is understandable. Even the best warriors in the world have struggled to maintain dominance at the pinnacle throughout the ages. In that sense, the odds are stacked with Aldo.

The question of when it will all be over will probably continue to pursue Aldo beyond this weekend, even if he can beat Font, who is on a four-match winning streak. But those doubts could follow Aldo right back to another UFC title fight in 2022, because quietly he has positioned himself not too far from the one he is in right now.

Watch UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Aldo on Saturday on ESPN and ESPN+. The main pass starts at 10pm ET and the pass starts at 7pm

Matching numbers: 5 vs. 5

5 for Fonts: He’s looking for his fifth straight win, which will draw Font with the former champion TJ Dillashaw for the third-longest active win streak in the men’s bantamweight division, one short of the defending champion Aljamain Sterling and ranked candidate Merab Dvalishvili. Font is also looking to become the sixth and 10-time UFC men’s bantamweight champion (Dillashaw 13, Sterling 11,). Raphael Assuncao 11, Urijah Faber 11, Marlon Vera ten).

5 for Aldo: This is his fifth fight at bantamweight after he fought at featherweight in the first 14 UFC appearances of his career. A win would give Aldo his first three-match winning streak since a career-best 18-match streak ended in 2015 with a loss. Conor McGregor.

Source: ESPN Stats & Info and UFC Stats

The last time we saw them…

Font Cody Garbrandt by unanimous decision in May:

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Rob Font destroys Cody Garbrandt with blows throughout the bout during their main event at UFC Fight Night.

Aldo defeated Pedro Munhoz by unanimous decision in August:

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Jose Aldo and Pedro Munhoz wowed Houston audiences with a bantamweight classic in the UFC 265 co-main event.

And the winner is…

Sayif Saud, head coach of Fortis MMA, said: “Aldo is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a Nova Uniao good under coach Andre Pederneiras. “However, it can be very difficult for him to bring the Font to the canvas. [Cody] Garbrandt removed the Font, but the Font was restored right away. However, you don’t want to underestimate Aldo’s comprehensiveness. That can play an important role if things go haywire. “

Check out how Saud and other experts Break down the main event and predict the winner.

Ian Parker’s Best Bet

Rob Font compare to Jose Aldo: In his last outing we saw Aldo get his second straight win with a unanimous decision Pedro Munhoz. Many people think that Munhoz’s pressure and playing style is too much for Aldo, but that is not the case. Aldo’s calf kicks, ecstatic swings and overall boxing bout proved to be the correct plan to get the job done. Unless Aldo surprises us all with an early knockdown in Saturday’s game, I expect it to be an indie battle from start to finish. Since 2018, Font is on a four-match winning streak and continues to get better in every game. In his final performance, one more decisive Cody Garbrandt Back in May, Font showed us that he can go 5 laps at a rapid pace that could make it difficult for any opponent. If Aldo continues to show good form, I believe that at this point in both men’s careers, it’s time for Font to shine. Font would be the better boxer, and if he can dodge Aldo’s calf kicks, I believe his output and accuracy will get the job done. Pick: Font to win at -140.

How to watch the matches

Watch main cards and prelims on ESPN: Download the ESPN . App | WatchESPN | TV

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Stream matches on ESPN+. No ESPN+? Get it here.

There are also FightCenter, which provides live updates for every UFC tag.

Saturday’s Battle Card

ESPN / ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET
Men’s middleweight: Rob Font compare to Jose Aldo
Light: Brad Riddell compare to Rafael Fiziev
Light: Clay Guida compare to Leonardo Santos
Light heavy: Jimmy Crute compare to Jamahal Hill
Average grade: Brendan Allen compare to Chris Curtis
Light-weight: Bryan Barberena compare to Darian week
ESPN / ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET
Average grade: Maki Pitolo compare to Dusko Todorovic
Light-weight: Jake Matthews compare to Jeremiah Wells
Male fly class: Manel Kape compare to Zhalgas Zhumagulov
Straw weight: Cheyanne Vlismas compare to Mallory Martin
Light heavy: Alonzo Menifield compare to William Knight
Light: Claudio Puelles compare to Chris Gruezemacher
Heavy: Jared Vanderaa compare to Azamat Murzakanov
Light-weight: Alex Morono compare to Mickey Gall
Men’s middleweight: Louis Smolka compare to Vince Morales

ESPN’s Jeff Wagenheim contributed to this fight preview.