Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo can now call himself a professional boxer, and an undefeated one at that.
Friday, Aldo laced up the boxing gloves for the first time at Shooto Brazil Boxing, which took place at Nova Uniao Upper Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and aired live on UFC Fight Pass. The six-round fight would go the distance, with only one judge finding a round to score for Aldo’s 33-year-old opponent Alberto Emmanuel Zambrano.
In the first round, Aldo patiently stalked Zambrano around the ring as he looked for openings. Zambrano offered a few jabs and combinations first as he circled on the outside, but Aldo’s counters were more accurate with more impact.
Crowd loving every punch thrown#ShootoBoxing pic.twitter.com/mhIeEzPj4i
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) February 11, 2023
Keeping the pressure high in the second, Aldo began looking to land bigger punches. Zambrano remained active on the outside, prompting Aldo to cover up at times, but the forward movement and slick defense from Aldo continued to dictate the fight.
Death, taxes, whiffing on punches against Jose Aldo#ShootoBoxing pic.twitter.com/5LwAFJXvtP
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) February 11, 2023
Aldo landed powerful combinations in the third round. At one point, he swarmed looking for a finish after landing a big right uppercut that rocked Zambrano, but it would not come.
In the fourth round, Zambrano found home for a few nice punches as Aldo slowed his offensive output. In the closing seconds, Aldo landed a low blow that caused the referee to pause the fight for a moment. The fight resumed and the fighters returned to their corners after what was Zambrano’s best round.
As action began to ramp up in the fifth, the fight was paused after an accidental clash of heads. The referee briefly spoke to both fighters in the center of the ring before resuming the fight. Aldo got the momentum back on his side by landing cleaner strikes before the bell.
In the sixth and final round, Aldo continued to march forward as the crowd began chanting his name. Aldo did well to evade some of Zambrano’s offerings while ripping to the body and looking to land the knockout punch upstairs. The fight reached the final bell and the fighters embraced before returning to their corner to wait for the scorecards.
The three judges scored the bout unanimously in favor of Aldo, with scores of 60-54, 59-55 and 60-54. Zambrano remains winless in his pro boxing career.
STILL THE KING!!!!#ShootoBoxing pic.twitter.com/OwTDG7Im9f
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) February 11, 2023
As for what’s next, Aldo already has his next bout lined up. On April 1, he will make another appearance in the boxing ring, taking on fellow UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens at Gamebred Boxing 4 in Milwaukee.
The soon-to-be UFC Hall of Famer decided to make the transition to boxing after ending his MMA career in September. He will be inducted during “International Fight Week” in July.
