In the wake of WSN’s article on the most undeserved title shots in modern UFC history, another entry has joined the conversation as the UFC announced that the next challenger to Henry Cejudo’s bantamweight title would be none other than Jose Aldo.
Aldo, although a legend of the sport and no-doubt a future hall-of-famer, has been granted this title shot after coming off of not one but two losses in a row. This is only the second time in UFC history that this has happened and the first time since the $4-billion WME purchase of the organization.
The fight was made official last week and the bantamweight division was an immediate uproar, as the division currently has three clear-cut contenders more deserving of a crack at Cejudo than Jose Aldo in Petr Jan, Aljamain Sterling, and Corey Sandhagen.
The UFC has officially announced the fight as the main event for the May 9 UFC 250 card that will be held in Brazil. So how did we get here?
Let’s start with Aldo’s last two fights.
After two impressive wins in a row over Jeremy Stephens and Renato Moicano (both of which earned him performance of the night bonuses), Aldo was pitted against rising star Alexander Volkanovski which appeared to be a number-one contender battle for the next shot at Max Holloway’s featherweight title.
Volkanovski would go on to handily win the fight via unanimous decision and Aldo made his intent clear afterward that he would drop to bantamweight for the first time in his career.
Aldo made his bantamweight debut at UFC 245 last December and faced the last man to fight for the title (and lose), Marlon Moraes.
The fight was fireworks from bell to bell but limited to only three rounds. Aldo would ultimately lose the bout, albeit by split-decision.
Many fighters and pundits scored the fight in favor of Aldo, but it was Moraes who had his hand raised.
It was this split-decision performance that was noticed by Henry Cejudo – the bantamweight champion.
Having already beaten Moraes, Cejudo publicly called out Aldo to be his next opponent over every other ranked bantamweight fighter. Cejudo, always one to want to build on his legacy, argued that Aldo’s legendary status would be good for Cejudo’s career and for the UFC.
This unprovoked challenge was the first of two factors that were out of Aldo’s control but ultimately gifted him the title fight. Usually, a contender calls out the champion. In this case, the champion called out Aldo, the loser of two fights in a row.
The second factor of this perfect storm for Aldo was the fact that the UFC scheduled their UFC 250 event to take place in Aldo’s home country of Brazil and the card needed a main event.
It needed a title fight. It needed Brazilians on the card. Essentially, it needed Jose Aldo.
And now here we are. Aldo’s exciting fighting style mixed with his legendary career, this shot at the title seems like a form of thank you from the UFC. He got the fight because people wanted to see it, and he never even had to ask.
Early odds have the champion Henry Cejudo as the -166 favorite over Jose Aldo, who sits as a +125 underdog at the moment. But a lot can change in two months’ time. Here is the announced May 9 UFC 250 main card as it stands:
UFC 250 Main Card
- (C) Henry Cejudo vs. Jose Aldo – Bantamweight championship
- Ketlen Vieira vs. Marion Reneau – Women’s bantamweight division
- Augusto Sakai vs. Blagoy Ivanov – Heavyweight division
- Fabricio Werdum vs. Aleksey Oleynik – Heavyweight division
- Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – Light heavyweight division
WSN will provide you with a full breakdown of the UFC 250 main card as we get closer to the event. Please stay tuned.
UFC 250 Cejudo vs Aldo FAQ
When is UFC 250 Cejudo vs Aldo?
The UFC 250 fight is on Saturday, 9 May 2020.
Where is the UFC 250 Cejudo vs Aldo fight?
UFC 250 will take place at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil.
What are the fights on the UFC 250 Main Card?
Henry Cejudo vs. Jose Aldo – Bantamweight championship
Ketlen Vieira vs. Marion Reneau – Women’s bantamweight division
Augusto Sakai vs. Blagoy Ivanov – Heavyweight division
Fabricio Werdum vs. Aleksey Oleynik – Heavyweight division
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – Light heavyweight division
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