In a true twist of fate, Jose Aldo’s release from the UFC may have saved the life of his unborn child.
Widely regarded as the best featherweight fighter in the history of mixed martial arts, Jose Aldo decided it was time to move on from the UFC after more than a decade with the promotion. With one fight left on his contract, ‘Junior’ drafted a message to UFC president Dana White, asking for his release from the organization which was ultimately granted without issue. However, the story doesn’t end there.
During an appearance on MMA Fighting’s Portuguese-language podcast Trocação Franca, Jose Aldo revealed that his text exchange with Dana White that day may have saved the life of Jose Aldo III.
“A friend of mine was looking into some boxing things for me and said I needed to prepare a statement saying he could consult the UFC,” Aldo said. “I did that and texted Dana on Thursday, and Dana wrote me back thanking me for everything, saying the UFC was always open for me, the [Performance Institute], and everything I needed. He has great affection for me and my family, he was always very close to us.
“After that emotional message – it wasn’t a boss talking to his employee, it was two people that like each other – I showed it to [my wife] Vivianne. She was still pregnant at the time and got emotional, her blood pressure went up and we had to go to the hospital. She [went back for some tests and] was admitted to the hospital on Friday. She had preeclampsia and [the blood pressure] went up after Dana’s message.”
At just 36 weeks, doctors made the difficult call to deliver Jose Aldo III under less-than-ideal circumstances.
“The actual birth was really crazy,” Aldo said. “It looked like everything would go wrong. He was born with a true knot [in his umbilical cord], and if we had waited two more weeks, I wouldn’t be at home with little Aldo here.”
Jose Aldo reveals his contract with the UFC is still valid
During the conversation, Aldo revealed that he was not granted his outright release from the promotion. With one fight remaining on his deal, Aldo is still under contract, but is cleared to compete elsewhere should he choose to do so.
“I can compete in any organization in jiu-jitsu, boxing, anything. I’ll show the offer to the UFC and they will clear me,” Aldo said. “My contract is still valid, mainly because people talk badly about the UFC and they have to be cautious. I understand their side. I will never fight the UFC or anything like that, they made me who I am. If I’m famous and am who I am, that was because of the UFC. Thanks to my work, but together with the UFC. I still have a contract with the UFC and any fight I want to do, I’ll show it to them and they will clear it.”
As for his thoughts on Dana White, Aldo says that he will never stand against the UFC president.
“I will never stand against someone like that,” Aldo said, referring to White. “Even unintentionally, he’s always helped me in my life. I get emotional talking about it. Not that I owe him my son’s life, but it was after his message that got Vivianne emotional, her blood pressure going up, and we taking her to the hospital. He was born with all odds against him, but thanks to Dana… God always puts good people in our lives to help us.”
