Exclusive: UFC legend José Aldo has no immediate plans to retire

He is, and always will be, a UFC legend.

José Aldo (32-9), the former UFC featherweight champion, will be making his big return to the octagon on May 10 in Montreal, where he will face Aiemann Zahabi (12-2). But at 38, the King of Rio doesn't want to retire just yet, as he told DAZN News.

"After my retirement, and not now, I don’t plan to fight anymore," he said. "I think I came back for a reason, for a calling. That’s why I’m training hard, dedicating myself a lot. And no, when I retire, I will stop for good."

Once he has laid down his gloves, he no longer wishes to switch to another discipline, like he did with boxing after his first retirement. However, Aldo will always keep one foot in jiu-jitsu.

"I don’t want to do boxing or anything else any more [after retirement]," he said. "At most, I’ll return to my roots, which is jiu-jitsu. So I’ll go back to training my jiu-jitsu, which I’ve always enjoyed. There’s no doubt about it.

"So, when I stop, it will be more of a hobby training than anything related to competition."

For Aldo, once he has laid down his gloves, there is no question of returning to MMA. Priority will be given to his family, as he explained. 

"I think that after I retire, I’m not sure if I’ll stay in MMA," Aldo said. "My close friends know. It’s all about my family. I want to live for my family. I want to make my daughter’s and my son’s dreams come true.

"So, I think it will be very difficult for me to be in MMA once I retire. I might help a friend, or go to an event, but 100% no. I think I’ll focus on helping my daughter, I’ll help her, and my son as well, in his career, I want to support him."

Watch three incredible fight nights in one week only on DAZN

Fight fans are in for a treat at the end of April / start of May, with three amazing fight cards within seven days - and  DAZN PPV  is the only place to watch them all.

• April 26:  Chris Eubank Jr. vs Conor Benn
• May 2:  Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero; Devin Haney vs Jose Ramirez; Teofimo Lopez vs Arnold Barboza Jr.
• May 3:  Canelo Alvarez vs. William Scull

Arch rivals Eubank Jr. and Benn finally go head-to-head to start the exhilarating week, with PPV prices at £21.99 in the UK; $24.99 in the US; €24.99 in Europe.

Garcia vs. Romero and Canelo vs. Scull fight nights follow, which will both be exclusively on DAZN. These two PPV's prices are yet to be confirmed.