Martinez vs Aldo Prediction: Age Is Just a Number for “Junior”
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Vladislav Tchakarov
The co-main event of UFC Rio will feature the return of Jose Aldo, who “retired” two years ago. Will he defy the odds and come out victorious? Here is our Martinez vs Aldo prediction.
Martinez vs Aldo Prediction: Aldo Was Already a UFC Champion Before Martinez Became a Pro
Jonathan Martinez Preview
At the age of 14, Martinez began training in taekwondo before switching to other disciplines and MMA. He has a blue belt in BJJ.
Jonathan became a professional in 2014 and won the XFL Flyweight and Bantamweight titles within a few months. He made his UFC debut in 2018 and since then, he won 10 fights and lost three.
He is in his prime right now and enters this contest after six wins in a row. In his most recent bout, he knocked out Adrian Yanez.
Martinez is a distinguished striker. He prefers to control his fights, works at a high tempo, puts a lot of pressure, and has a diverse arsenal of punches and kicks.
Martinez has good takedown defense, but his ground defense leaves much to be desired. If he is taken to the ground by a pro-grappler, he will have a hard time standing up.
Aldo has a black belt in BJJ but he has only one submission victory in 31 career wins. The odds for this outcome are wild but we have to go for a different Martinez vs Aldo prediction.
Jose Aldo Preview
As a teenager, he trained capoeira and then mastered Brazilian jiu-jitsu (black belt). He has been performing in professional MMA since 2004.
In 2008 he moved to the WEC, where in 2009 he became the featherweight champion, and then defended the title twice. After the UFC merged with WEC, Aldo became the first UFC Featherweight champion. He defended the belt seven times – an unbeaten record for the featherweight division.
In 2015, he lost the title to Conor McGregor. In 2016, he won the interim belt but was promoted to regular champion Aldo due to McGregor's inactivity.
He lost the title to Max Holloway and couldn't win it back in the rematch. In 2019, he moved to bantamweight, where in 2020 he fought for the belt with Petr Yan, but lost.
He finished his career with three wins and a defeat (Merab Dvalishvili) and announced his retirement in August 2022.
Aldo is a universal fighter with extensive experience, who knows how to properly manage an opponent’s weaknesses, hiding his own flaws with skillful defense.
Since 2020, Aldo changed his fighting style: instead of working as number one, he prefers to rely on counterattacks. This is, of course, due to his age. However, we have to note that his knockout power is still there.
Our Jonathan Martinez vs Jose Aldo Prediction: Junior Has The Advantage
What convinced Aldo to return to the Octagon? Was it the money? Was boxing too relaxing for his taste? Anyhow, he will make his return at home in front of his own crowd. We expect him to be a little nervous and reserved at the start until he feels out the distance.
Sooner or later, he will put pressure on Martinez, who is hardly known for his strong chin. Moreover, the local public will push the Brazilian MMA legend forward, which will clearly add motivation to Aldo’s experience and advantage.
Our safest Martinez vs Aldo prediction is for a long fight. There is a high chance for a decision in this bout and even if there is an early finish, we expect it to happen in the third round.
Vlad is a former amateur MMA fighter. After a series of injuries, he found a different way to connect with the sport and its fanbase - through writing. He's been covering everything-UFC for over 5 years on various platforms and has been part of the team at NYFights since early 2022.
