Former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub blames Jose Aldo’s team for the lackluster end to the former featherweight champ’s career. Jose Aldo was a dominant force in MMA for almost two decades, was once ranked the #1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, and was, from the division’s launch in 2011 up until 2015, the only featherweight champion in UFC history. Aldo’s last fight, a one-sided loss to Merab Dvalishvili, felt like a missed opportunity for the legendary fighter, and Schaub wanted to see more from the veteran.
“I think retirement is probably the best move because for him, to get back to you know. He’s a guy who fights for championships. And you know, he had a rough patch from 2019-2020, last three in a row. He lost to Volkanovski, Marlon Moraes and Petr Yan. So, then he goes on this three-fight win streak. He beats Chito, Pedro Munhoz, Rob Font, and his team really f***ed up taking that Merab fight.
Brendan Schaub Believes Jose Aldo’s Team “f***ed up”
This was the finale and then you toss him in there. There was Merab character who’s just a nightmare of a matchup for him where he could have waited, probably get a title shot. They would have sent him off the right way. I much prefer Jose Aldo to fight for the title and then retire.”
Jose Aldo dropped down to the UFC bantamweight division after his infamous thirteen-second knockout loss to Conor McGregor led to a rocky series of fights. From 2016 to 2019, he recaptured the title once, and fought for the title three times, losing to champions Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski on the way. He made his bantamweight debut in 2019, losing his first two 135-pound fights in a row, and then went on to string three consecutive victories together.
Just when it looked like Jose Aldo might, at the tail end of his career, capture another title, he endured a decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili. Faced with the prospect of building another winning streak in one of the deepest, most competitive divisions in the UFC, Aldo recently announced his retirement from competition. Whether he should – or even could – have waited for a shot at Aljamain Sterling, the reigning champion, remains unclear. Perhaps the Dvalishvili fight was a title eliminator for two of the division’s top-ranked fighters.
Do you agree with Brendan Schaub? Should Jose Aldo’s team have held out for a better final fight, or was this just a simple mistake? Let us know in the comments.
