Jose Aldo defeats Emmanuel Zambrano by decision to win his pro boxing debut
Jose Aldo’s first fight as a professional boxer was a victorious feat in Brazil. In the headline event of Shooto Boxing on Friday night in Rio de Janeiro, former UFC and WEC featherweight king Jose Aldo outpointed Argentine boxer Emmanuel Zambrano at 140 pounds.
Aldo has scheduled his next boxing match in advance. In the co-main event of Gamebred Boxing 4 on April 1 in Milwaukee, he’ll be facing off against fellow UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens over the course of six rounds. On December 30, 2018, at UFC on FOX 30, Aldo knocked out Stephens in the first round.
Six rounds of three minutes each were allotted for the fight. Aldo was in no rush in the opening rounds, taking his time to assess his opponent. In the third round, he seemed to find his footing, landing a solid blow to the body before moving to the uppercut. In the fourth round, Aldo and Zambrano briefly exchanged wild blows, but neither boxer landed a clean one. As much as Andre Pederneiras, Aldo’s coach, urged him to work the body, the UFC legend was missing. After a hard-fought bout, the judges awarded Aldo a unanimous victory.
Jose Aldo narrates hilarious ‘Red Panties’ incident involving Conor McGrgeor
Following the news that he would be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, former featherweight champion Jose Aldo spoke to the media backstage at UFC 283 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro and updated fans on his current status with old rival Conor McGregor.
When asked if he regretted not securing a rematch with McGregor after being knocked out in 13 seconds at UFC 194, Aldo said that the time had gone for such a bout.
“Maybe back in the day it would have been an awesome event, but not today,” Aldo said via a Portuguese translator. “People, everywhere I go now — I do have a lot of respect for him. We’re friends. We even follow each other on Instagram, we exchange dialogue there, and sometimes fans come up to me and say, ‘Do you feel like beating McGregor or something? I say, ‘How can I do that? That’s the guy who gave me the most money. I have nothing but respect and kind of a friendship now, [I wouldn’t think of a rematch] these days.”
After losing to McGregor, Aldo defeated Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 for the interim featherweight title, which was eventually raised to undisputed status. When asked if he was amused by the notion that McGregor had left him a pair of red underwear, he laughed. He subsequently acknowledged that the action had in fact taken place, which Aldo had interpreted as a token of respect from McGregor, the inventor of the phrase “red panty night,” which refers to a big-money fight.
“It was just good-hearted, lighthearted fun,” Aldo said. “We were in Red Rock owned by Lorenzo [Fertitta] in Vegas and we were window to window and there was a night I beat Frankie Edgar, so he just sent it out as a lighthearted joke. I didn’t do anything with it. But maybe. I could even get my missus to wear it or something.”
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