Rankings Shakeup: Is Jose Aldo once again a top-5 bantamweight after UFC 301?
Jose Aldo picked up right where he left off.
Despite taking a 21-month sabbatical to get inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and test out his boxing prowess, “The King of Rio” looked as sharp as ever on Saturday, outclassing Jonathan Martinez in a pillar-to-post victory in UFC 301’s co-main event. Aldo is now the hottest free agent in MMA with a wealth of options seemingly in front of him, both within the sport and outside of it in boxing. The only thing for certain is that Aldo is clearly not done yet — at age 37, he spoke openly at Saturday’s night post-fight press conference about entertaining the idea of another run toward the UFC bantamweight title.
But now that he’s back, is Aldo immediately a top-five bantamweight in the world?
Survey says...
It was a close race, but ultimately MMA Fighting’s seven-person voting panel slotted Aldo just outside of the top five, debuting him back at No. 6 in the aftermath of UFC 301. Still, that’s nothing to sneeze at. Aldo was our No. 5 ranked bantamweight when he retired from MMA in August 2022, and 21 months later, he’s essentially held his spot despite the division having been turned upside-down by the dual rises of Sean O’Malley and Patchy Mix.
It doesn’t hurt that Aldo’s résumé at 135 pounds still holds strong — he owns big wins over Marlon Vera, Pedro Munhoz, Rob Font, and now Martinez, and his only losses since 2020 have come in competitive bouts against top-five contenders Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan.
So what do you think, MMA Fighting faithful? Did we get this right? Did we get this wrong? Is Brazil’s ageless wonder still among the elite of the elite at 135 pounds?
Vote in the polls (bonus poll!) and let us know in the comments below.