Jose Aldo plans to retire by the end of 2019, doesn’t want to pursue UFC gold anymore

Bloodyelbow.com

Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo could be done with fighting in 2019. In an interview with Portal do Vale Tudo, the 32-year-old revealed he might just hang up his gloves once the last three fights on his current contract are up.

In fact, Aldo even went on to say his fire to chase after an UFC title is not there anymore and he prefers to take care of his health after dedicating 15 years of his life to professional fighting.

“I want to stop and not spend my money getting my health back,” Aldo said. “Today, I’m spending my money to be healthy. I want to feel well, I want to enjoy seeing my daughter grow, travel with my family, smile, play, I don’t want to fight into my forties and performing badly like I see so many of our great idols do. I programmed my entire life to be financially stable so I could stop whenever I felt like it.”

Although Aldo already thinks of retiring, he has a fight against one of the division’s top contenders in Renato Moicano this Saturday, but he still plans to fight two more times before the year ends, but doesn’t want any title fights, even if he wins all three bouts.

“If I fight for the title and win, my contract pretty much gets renewed on its own,” Aldo said. “Then Dede (Pederneiras) will have to step in and negotiate, which is exactly what I don’t want to happen, I don’t want to be stuck. My goal is to fight in Fortaleza, then in May (in Curitiba) and then end it here (in Rio de Janeiro), because I know there’ll be another card here, and they know that. There’s no reason for them to give me a title shot. But make no mistake, I’ll make it hard for everyone who steps in front of me, I’ll win all three fights.”

Aldo vs. Moicano will serve as the co-main event for UFC Fight Night 144, in Fortaleza, Brazil, on February 2. The card will be headlined by a bantamweight bout between contenders Marlon Moraes and Raphael Assuncao.