UFC 315: José Aldo is still here, but for what purpose?

For anybody who has adopted the sport lengthy sufficient, there’s a tinge of unhappiness to seeing José Aldo on Saturday’s UFC 315 card, and never simply because he could not whittle his kind all the way down to 135 kilos for his battle with Aiemann Zahabi. It’s extra as a result of he’s combating Zahabi in any respect. Shouldn’t the unique Lord of the Flies be paired towards a fellow twilight idol? Some title that checks a field for his legacy, which simply retains stretching off into weirder and weirder methods like a lot taffy?

Abnormal fighters will be discovered chasing greatness on the finish of their careers. To have a look at Aldo’s matchmaking, you may suppose he’s the uncommon instance of an excellent fighter searching for ordinariness down the stretch. Preventing his means again into the woodwork, because it have been.

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There was a time, again in April 2011, when the UFC assembled the best forged of champions we’d ever probably see on a single stage. It was a media convention simply earlier than UFC 129 on the Rogers Centre in Toronto, which itself would shatter the UFC’s attendance document on the time by bringing in additional than 55,000 paid spectators a few days later.

It was probably the most superb instance of males in blazers, if not probably the most terrifying.

Here is the group of champions that appeared that day, all of them dressed to the nines sans ties: Dominick Cruz (bantamweight champ), Jose Aldo (featherweight), Frankie Edgar (light-weight), Georges St-Pierre (welterweight), Anderson Silva (middleweight), Jon Jones (gentle heavyweight), and Cain Velasquez (heavyweight).

I can bear in mind debating media members readily available over which one amongst that all-powerful pantheon would lose first. It was a real head-scratcher. Folks puzzled over that as a result of all of them appeared thus far forward of their respective lessons. It was extraordinarily arduous to think about any of them shedding anytime quickly. Pardon the pun, however Edgar was the reply, as he’d had an epic battle with Grey Maynard to kick off the yr and there was a rematch looming. Aldo, who had a scar working down the facet of his face and a perma-scowl acquired in childhood, was significantly untouchable.

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If you wish to perceive the place the battle sport leads, reduce ahead 14 years and 186 pay-per-views to our current day, all the way in which to UFC 315, which is occurring only a province over in Quebec on Saturday night time. I’ll warn you, this is likely to be somewhat miserable, however in placing Aldo’s quiet swing bout towards Zahabi in perspective, a miserable huge image makes the smaller one really feel higher.

Of these aforementioned champions, not many are left. In actual fact, solely two are (theoretically) nonetheless going — Aldo and Jones. Dominick Cruz fought simply 10 instances over the following 14 years, and retired earlier this yr after withdrawing from his battle with Rob Font with a shoulder harm. Accidents got here to outline his profession as a lot as his potential to bewitch opponents along with his motion.

Edgar did defend his light-weight title within the trilogy with Maynard, however went 10-10 within the UFC after that nice day. He was fed to Chris Gutierrez in his retirement battle at UFC 281 at Madison Sq. Backyard, in some of the miserable swan songs on document. The image of his face turning to putty solely added to the merciless nature of the sendoff.

Of the group talked about, St-Pierre bought out on his personal phrases. He received that weekend towards Jake Shields to retain his title and defended it three extra instances earlier than going up a weight class and taking Michael Bisping’s middleweight strap. He vacated {that a} month later, and lately is fortunately finding out UFOs and the elasticity of consciousness, all with a full head of hair.

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Silva? He went simply 4-7 (1 NC) after that gathering, shedding his title dramatically to Chris Weidman and breaking his leg within the rematch. It was a sluggish fade, which ended with a TKO loss to Uriah Corridor. Or did it? He tried some boxing, the place he ended up on Jake Paul’s casualty checklist. There’s at all times an opportunity Andy exhibits again up sooner or later.

Jones? We’re nonetheless ready on “Bones.” He’s the totally disputed heavyweight champ. However he’s remarkably the one one who may nonetheless seem on a stage of champions like that.

And Velasquez? Tragic, bubba, simply tragic. He went 5-3 after that day, shedding and regaining his title. He bought brutally knocked out by Francis Ngannou on the finish and is now serving a five-year sentence in Santa Clara County for a well-publicized capturing incident. (#FreeCainVelasquez.)

Which brings us again to Aldo, who’s coming off a break up resolution loss towards Mario Bautista. Earlier than then he received towards Jonathan Martinez. At a time when most champions from his period are lengthy retired, Aldo continues to be slipping into plastic fits attempting to chop the final of the cussed weight for fights towards middle-of-the-pack bantamweights.

The million-dollar query is: Why?

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What does a victory towards Zahabi this weekend get him, particularly now that it’s switched to a featherweight battle after Aldo missed weight? Aldo will flip 39 in 4 months, and he’s combating guys as if he’s attempting to construct a contender’s résumé. Maybe he’s attempting to place himself for one final title run, however having gone 4-5 in his final 9, with eight of these coming at 135 kilos, that appears like a stretch.

Just lately, when discussing his resolution to retire after his UFC 317 trilogy with Max Holloway and a 15-year run within the UFC, Dustin Poirier laid out the fundamentals in a means that almost everybody can perceive. He didn’t need to should work his means again to a title shot. Didn’t need to should win three in a row and undergo three completely different camps, and say “so long” to his household for six weeks at a time, simply to get that shot. He didn’t need to be a battle sport Sisyphus anymore.

Aldo was already a champion. He held the title for six years throughout the WEC and the UFC. He fought on that card in Toronto, put the Looney Tunes lump on Mark Hominick’s head in entrance of 55,000 folks. He’s already a member of the UFC Corridor of Fame, class of ’23. He’s thought of the best featherweight of all time, even when folks need to argue Alexander Volkanovski’s credentials.

And but he continues to battle. In a means, that’s what makes Aldo the marvel of yesterday’s champions. The truth that his “why” isn’t recognized, maybe even to himself. Ought to he have been Dominick Cruz’s final battle? Would a battle with Henry Cejudo make sense?

These fights would’ve been enjoyable. However you get the sense Aldo isn’t buzzing alongside to anybody else’s swan tune — and as for his personal, it’s nonetheless being written.