Jose Aldo signs new long-term contract with UFC

Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has signed a new, long-term contract with the UFC, ending any rumors of his impending retirement.

According to a report from ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto, Aldo recently signed a new deal with the UFC and will not retire in 2019, as was previously rumored. UFC president Dana White told ESPN about the new deal for Jose Aldo, and the Brazilian’s head coach Andre Pederneiras confirmed that the long-time featherweight champion indeed inked a new deal prior to his UFC 237 bout against Alexander Volkanovski.

Aldo’s new UFC contract is for eight fights.

Jose Aldo (28-5) has a 10-4 overall record in the UFC and is a two-time featherweight champion in the Octagon. He was ranked as the No. 1 featherweight in the world between 2009 and 2015, before losing his featherweight title by KO to Conor McGregor at UFC 194. Since the loss to McGregor, Aldo has gone just 3-3 with victories over Frankie Edgar, Renato Moicano and Jeremy Stephens, but with two TKO losses to Max Holloway and a decision loss to Volkanovski in his last fight.

Jose Aldo has long been rumored to retire from the UFC to pursue boxing or perhaps even soccer. But this new deal with the UFC ensures the long-time champion will remain a part of the promotion’s roster for the foreseeable future. Despite the loss to Volkanovski in his last fight where he looked stiff and couldn’t get his trademark striking attack going, he remains one of the best in the world at 145lbs.

At this point, there are no rumored matchups for Aldo’s return, but anyone in the top-10 makes sense for him. A matchup against Zabit Magomedsharipov would be fun, as would a fight against Brian Ortega. Jose Aldo could also fight Yair Rodriguez or perhaps could even rematch “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung after he just starched Renato Moicano. There are plenty of exciting matchups for Aldo out there and a couple big wins would get him right back into title contention at 145lbs.

Who should Jose Aldo fight next?