Jose Aldo Assesses UFC 237 Performance: ‘I’ve Never Fought So Badly in My Life’

Jose Aldo never could get going against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 237, and the result was a clear-cut unanimous decision defeat.

Volkanovski smothered the former featherweight champion for three rounds in Rio de Janeiro, outlanding his opponent by a 95-to-29 count in significant strikes. Not only was the effort a disappointment to the hometown crowd who wanted to see the Brazilian legend succeed, but it wasn’t particularly pleasing to the man himself. In fact, Aldo claims he can’t remember a more lackluster performance in his 33-bout professional career.

“I’ve never fought so badly in my life,” Aldo wrote (translation via MMAjunkie.com) on Instagram. “No excuses at all, because that’s not me, but I know about my ability and talent and I can’t do that. Not taking away the merits from my opponent, who did his fight, but I’m sad at myself and put it all on myself, because I let it happen and didn’t do the fight that I should have. It’s over and on to the next one.”

After losing two straight title bouts to Max Holloway in convincing fashion, Aldo had experienced a mini-resurgence with back-to-back technical knockout wins over Jeremy Stephens and Renato Carneiro heading into UFC 237. However, he had no answers against Volkanovski, who has now won seven consecutive UFC bouts — five at featherweight — to establish himself as a top contender for Holloway’s throne.

Aldo has said recently that he plans on retiring following the completion of his current UFC contract. The 32-year-old has just one fight remaining on his current deal, so the end could be imminent if Aldo stays true to that claim.

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Queria agradecer a todos que estavam e torceram na arena e nas suas casas muito obrigado, agradecer a toda minha equipe @dede_pederneiras @mabogea @guidarellif os treinadores @emersonfalcaovieira @aleksandrofg @piratiev_oficial @rafaelviniciusbertho me colocaram como nunca estive antes! Mas nunca lutei tão mal na minha vida sem desculpas nenhuma porque não sou disso, mas sei da minha capacidade e talento e não posso fazer isso, sem tirar os méritos do meu adversário que fez a luta dele mas fico triste comigo mesmo e transfiro tudo em mim mesmo porque deixei acontecer e não fiz a luta que deveria fazer. Já passou e vamos pra próxima!

A post shared by José Aldo Junior (@josealdojunioroficial) on May 13, 2019 at 8:52am PDT