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MMA Fighting has live round-by-round updates for the six-round boxing match between former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and 51-fight MMA veteran Jeremy Stephens at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisc., on Saturday night.
The matchup will serve as the featured bout of the Gamebred Boxing 4 pay-per-view broadcast. Check out our Jones Jr. vs. Pettis results page to find out what happened on the undercard.
The fighters met once before in the UFC’s octagon where Aldo stopped Stephens with a first-round TKO win at UFC on FOX 30 in July 2018.
After retiring from the UFC this past year, Aldo will make his second appearance in the squared circle. The member of the upcoming UFC Hall of Fame class earned a unanimous decision victory at February’s Shooto Brasil Boxing event against Emmanuel Zambrano.
Stephens makes his pro boxing debut after going 1-2 with the PFL in 2022. “Lil’ Heathen” competed 34 times in the UFC, winning 15 of those bouts, and finishing eight opponents.
Check out the Aldo vs. Stephens live blog below.
Round 1: Both fighters are ready to go and Aldo gets a big pop from the crowd. They feel it out for a few seconds and Stephens goes to the body, Aldo answers with a pair of jabs. Stephens comes up short with an uppercut, lands a jab, Aldo counters with a nice shot to the body. Aldo lands a trio of jabs and Stephens is having a hard time finding his opponent. Combination from the former UFC champ finds the mark, and lands another hard jab to the body. Final 35 seconds and the Aldo jab continues to score. Hard right hand from Aldo blocked, but lands a beautiful jab behind it. Stephens grazes Aldo with an overhand right and Round 1 is in the books.
MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 for Aldo
Round 2: Despite Aldo finding success early, Stephens looks like he belongs in the boxing ring. Both guys land clean to start the round, Stephens moving forward and lands a jab, Aldo counters moving backwards with a nice jab of his own. They get in close and Aldo lands a beautiful left hook to the body. Right hand from Aldo, one to the body, and a right uppercut to boot. Jab to the body from Aldo, Stephens tries to come over the top, and Aldo lands a big right hand to the face of his opponent. Aldo is finding his timing for sure and finds his way back to the body with some clean punches in close. Final 15 seconds and Aldo roasts the ribs of Stephens again, followed by a nice combination. Stephens lands a jab and the bell rings. Another Aldo round more than likely.
MMAFighting scores the round 10-9, 20-18 overall for Aldo
Round 3: They touch gloves and off we go for the third round. Aldo showing a lot of patience and allowing Stephens to go first, and immediately countering with combinations. Aldo lands a hard jab and then fires another multiple punch combination as he turns up the volume. Stephens tries to fire back, Aldo ducks and moves, firing a nice right hand. Jab pushes Stephens back a bit, and Stephens answers with a nice right hand — maybe his best land of the fight thus far. Aldo continuing to jab away, Stephens lands a shot, but is warned about going to the back of the head. Final 30 seconds and Aldo lands a right, pushes Stephens away, Stephens lands with a nice right hand, Aldo answers back with a right hand, and that does it for the third. Better round for Stephens, but wasn’t enough.
MMAFighting scores the round 10-9, 30-27 overall for Aldo
Round 4: This has been a fun nine minutes of action as Stephens is certainly holding his own. Stephens coming out a little more aggressive, finding his comfort zone landing a slew of punches. Aldo answers and Stephens throwing in some really nice feints that has Aldo guessing. Nice right hand from Stephens, followed by a jab, and Aldo counters to the body. Stephens in tight and he’s starting to score a bit more with combinations to the head and body. Aldo fires a nice hook, and an uppercut with both landing clean. Final 45 seconds and Stephens lands a left jab and a short, sneaky right hand from Aldo, lands again, and Stephens lands a clean right hand. They start to chat at one another as the round ends. Best round of the fight for “Lil’ Heathen.”
MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 Stephens, 39-37 overall for Aldo
Round 5: As they’ve done at the top of every round, they touch gloves. Stephens comes out hot with a right hand, Aldo lands a hard combination, and a double jab. Stephens goes two to the body, right hand up top, Aldo moves forward with a right hand, and a one-two combo. Aldo lands another left hand, and a jab behind it. Stephens moves forward, eats a jab, then misses with a wild right hand. Nice right hand from Aldo and Stephens fires back with a stiff jab. Aldo lands again, Stephens trying to move forward aggressively but Aldo defends, eats a right, shakes his head at Stephens, then lands a hard right hand. Stephens lands the final punch of the round. Close Round 5, but leaning Aldo slightly.
MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 Aldo, 49-46 overall
Round 6: They ignore the glove touch and go straight for the hug. Love to see it. Aldo lands a combination right away. Stephens tries to go to the body, again, Aldo shakes his head. Flurry from Aldo, Stephens does a nice job with a high guard. Stephens with a nice combination, Aldo answers with a left hook. Stephens with a right uppercut, Aldo pops him back with a pair of jabs. Aldo with a nice counter right hand, Stephens fires back and pushes forward. Final minute of a fun scrap and Stephens lands a left hand, Aldo counters with a one-two, Stephens finds a home for an overhand right. Aldo with another combination, Stephens fires back to the body, Aldo lands a left. Aldo ducks under a left hand, lands a right. Two jabs from Aldo, and they just start chucking them. What a fun end to a fun fight. Aldo should take it, but every round was competitive.
MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 for Stephens, and the fight 58-56 for Aldo
Official result: Jose Aldo vs. Jeremy Stephens scored majority draw (58-56 for Aldo, 57-57, 57-57)
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