It appears Ultimate Fighting Championship great Jose Aldo is
taking his burgeoning boxing career seriously.
Per sources close to the situation, Aldo (0-0-1, 0 KOs) will be
entering the ring for the third time as a boxer on Sunday. Aldo
will square off against Argentinian Esteban Gabriel Espindola
(0-1-1, 0 KOs) at Shooto Boxing 2. The event, held inside of the
Upper Arena in Rio de Janeiro, will be kicking off locally at 8
p.m. on July 2 – or 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The former UFC
featherweight king, who ended his pro MMA career at 31-8, already
has another fight planned after Espindola, as he will be rematching
Jeremy
Stephens at an undisclosed date. The two fought to a draw on
the Gamebred Boxing 4 show in April.
The match will last six rounds, and it will take place at 63.5 kg
(139.7 pounds). Aldo’s previous pairing in Shooto Boxing against
Emmanuel Zambrona was considered an exhibition, in what was slated
to be his professional debut at the time. It is currently unclear
if Aldo vs. Espindola will also be deemed an exhibition, or if it
will land on pro record databases. Like Aldo’s previous appearance
on the inaugural Shooto Boxing card in February, this clash will
air on UFC Fight Pass.
Aldo still remains under contract with the UFC following his
retirement from MMA, although the promotion has given him its
blessing to carry out his boxing career. According to the
36-year-old, UFC head Dana White informed him that as long as he
does not return to MMA for a competing promotion, he is welcome to
fight in other disciplines. The legendary Aldo still trains at the
vaunted Nova Uniao camp, and he supplements his boxing training by
working with the Brazilian Navy.
This item was updated at 2:43 p.m. ET on June 15 to correct the
date of Aldo’s boxing match. Sherdog previously reported it was on
June 18, when in fact the correct date is July 2.