Jose Aldo reveals medical issues prior to retirement announcement at UFC 315

Jose Aldo says he didn’t enter his UFC 315 matchup against Aiemann Zahabi healthy.

Aldo and Zahabi shared the Octagon inside Bell Centre in Montreal. The bout went the distance, and Zahabi was awarded the unanimous decision victory. After the fight, Aldo announced his retirement from pro MMA competition.

As it turns out, the MMA legend had some medical problems before the fight.

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Jose Aldo’s Medical Issues

During an interview with UFC Brazil, Jose Aldo revealed that and injury, followed by an infection nearly derailed plans to compete at UFC 315 (via MMAFighting).

“This fight was hard,” Aldo said. “I had a muscle tear on the arm, I had something on the belly that I forgot the name, down there, [from] kicking a lot. I had some problems. A virus infection, a bunch of things. The doctors [said], ‘Get him out of the fight,’ but I didn’t want to because in my head I knew this could be my last fight.”

Aldo then revealed that he had been considering retirement prior to UFC 315.

“I had that in mind already, was talking to [coach] ‘Dede’ [Pederneiras] and [Aldo’s wife] Viviane [Pereira], that I wanted to cross to the other side,” Aldo said. “I think it’s more of the mindset of getting in there — I wouldn’t say I was full of it, but to see I really have to cross to the other side. I always demand a lot from myself, but now I want to enjoy my family, be a father, pick up my kids at school. That’s what I want to do.”

Aldo is already a UFC Hall of Famer. His legacy has long been sealed, but he remained competitive all the way to the end of his career. Many even believe that the former featherweight ruler should’ve had his hand raised against Zahabi.