UFC 315 results: Jose Aldo retires after losing close decision to Aiemann Zahabi: ‘I just don’t think I have it anymore’

Jose Aldo came away on the wrong end of a very close, controversial decision in his fight against Aiemann Zahabi and ultimately decided that he’d had enough before declaring that UFC 315 would serve as the final appearance of his legendary career.

Despite a strong showing that included a near finish in the third round, Aldo eventually succumbed to exhaustion and Zahabi was unloading bombs on him until the final horn sounded. While opinions definitely varied on the scoring, it appeared that Aldo had done enough to get the nod but the judges disagreed with all three officials giving Zahabi the fight with 29-28 scorecards across the board.

Afterwards, Aldo removed his gloves and announced to the Montreal audience that he was retiring from the sport.

“Thank you to Dana [White], to Sean [Shelby], to Lorenzo Fertitta, for everybody in the UFC for everything they’ve given me,” Aldo said. “I don’t think I have it in me anymore. This was a tough week. It just wasn’t about cutting the weight and everything else. I just felt there were so many things that happened. It was very tough to go through all this.

“There was one point this week, it was a very tough week, that I felt I didn’t have it in me. I didn’t want to cut anymore. My body said no and I just don’t think I have it anymore. I don’t want to go into war all the time and go through this. I just don’t have it in my heart anymore. I think this is the last time you’re going to see me. I can’t do this anymore”

If this is truly the end, Aldo walks away as one of the greatest champions in UFC history with a remarkable 32-10 record overall and he’s already earned a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame.

As for Zahabi, he picks up the biggest win of his career and unless something changes, he’ll serve as the final opponent on Aldo’s resume.

“It feels amazing,” Zahabi said about the win. “I did all the work. He was eight pounds overweight, I took it anyway. I was rocked for sure. I was a bit disoriented but my mindset coach tells me to prepare for these moments. I would like to fight against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. Get me moving forward in the rankings.”

From the start, Aldo was marching forward looking to walk Zahabi down while launching a hard right hand that continued to find a home on the chin. Aldo was also digging hard to the body as well and Zahabi was struggling to keep up with the Brazilian’s speed.

With less than a minute left in the opening round, Zahabi finally connected with a stiff shot of his own followed by a teep kick but Aldo came right back at him with a blistering combination.

As time passed, Aldo’s output slowed down but he was still picking and choosing his moments to unleash a really good jab that continuously popped Zahabi in the mush. In return, Zahabi tagged the former champion with a hard right hand that served as his best punch of the fight so far.

With five minutes remaining, Zahabi clipped Aldo with some solid shots but then out of nowhere the Brazilian uncorked a brilliant knee strike right up the middle that found a home. Aldo rushed forward with a barrage of strikes including a couple of head kicks that blasted Zahabi and it looked like a finish was just seconds away.

Somehow, Zahabi survived and then at the end of the exchange he actually fired back and hammered Aldo with a couple of really stiff punches. From that moment it was clear that Aldo was absolutely exhausted and Zahabi was unloading anything and everything trying to get the finish.

Aldo eventually fell to his back and Zahabi started unleashing a series of punches and elbows that were doing a lot of damage. By the end of the fight, Aldo had blood streaming across his face and both fighters were holding their hands up high declaring victory but only one could actually walk away as the winner.

That ended up being Zahabi, who has now rattled off six straight wins overall and he adds a true icon to his record with the win over Aldo.