The UFC 301
lineup just received some much-needed star power.
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Former featherweight champion Jose Aldo will
come out of retirement to face Jonathan
Martinez in a 135-pound clash on May 4 in Rio de Janeiro.
Ag.Fight was first to report the booking, and
it was later confirmed by promotion broadcast partner ESPN. Aldo reportedly has one fight remaining
on his UFC contract.
Regarded by many as the greatest featherweight of all-time, Aldo
called it a career following a unanimous decision loss to Merab
Dvalishvili at UFC 278 on Aug. 20, 2022. The Nova Uniao
standout is 3-3 at bantamweight, with wins over the likes of
Marlon
Vera, Pedro
Munhoz and Rob Font to his
credit. Since stepping away from MMA, Aldo has competed three times
in professional boxing.
Martinez will take a six-bout promotional winning streak into the
matchup with Aldo. Most recently, the Factory X product defeated
Adrian
Yanez via second-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 230 this past
October.
UFC 301 takes place at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro and
features a flyweight championship clash pitting Alexandre
Pantoja against Steve
Erceg.