After coming back from retirement in 2024, former 2-time featherweight champion Jose Aldo decided to continue competing in the bantamweight division, but it hasn’t been smooth sailing for him. While he won his comeback match against Jonathan Martinez, he lost the next one against Mario Bautista. Now, ‘Junior’ is prepping for a dangerous competitor in the form of Aiemann Zahabi.
Why is Aiemann Zahabi dangerous? Well, Zahabi, who’s a year younger than Jose Aldo, has been on quite a roll in the UFC since joining the promotion in 2017. But that does not give us their entire picture of how their fight’s going to go. So, let’s make an analysis of the two bantamweights, starting with their career statistics.
UFC 315: Jose Aldo vs. Aiemann Zahabi stats
When we look at the stats, there’s no question that Jose Aldo is the most experienced between him and his opponent, Aiemann Zahabi. The latter started his MMA career relatively later than the former 2-time UFC champion, as he has a 12-2 record compared to Aldo’s 32-9 record. The Brazilian legend has the edge there. Also, ‘Junior’ has more than half of his wins come via finishes as he has 16 KOs and 2 submission wins.
In the meantime, Zahabi has 8 out of 12 wins via finishes. Both he and Jose Aldo are pretty good in that department. Moving on to their physical stats, the former UFC champion and his upcoming opponent have a one-inch height difference as Aldo stands 5-feet-7-inches tall and Zahabi stands 5-feet-8-inches tall. Despite the Brazilian’s shorter stature, he still has a two-inch reach advantage over his less-experienced counterpart.
Furthermore, after passing the weigh-ins by making 135 pounds, both fighters are likely to step inside the Octagon on the night of the fight, weighing around 145-150 pounds after rehydration. Now that we’ve established the statistics, let’s take a look at the prediction.
Aldo vs. Zahabi breakdown and prediction
Jose Aldo is a legend and was one of the most feared fighters during his time at the top of the UFC. And having acknowledged his takedown defense skills, Aiemann Zahabi is looking to keep the fight on his feet. ‘Junior’ could choose to make use of his experience and fight IQ and manage the distance, and find the right space to land significantly clean shots. To do that, Aldo could very well use his leg kicks and shots to Zahabi’s body with relentless forward pressure.
On the other hand, Aiemann Zahabi is known for the volume of his striking. It’s immense. Even his defensive metrics look much better than most bantamweights, and now that he’s on a 5-fight winning streak, it makes him even more dangerous. If Zahabi can out-strike and out-land Jose Aldo and set him up for some dangerous combinations, there’s no reason to believe that he can’t make it 6 wins in a row.
Well, the betting odds favor Jose Aldo, as he’s the favorite, and Aiemann Zahabi is the underdog. While there are people talking about the Brazilian being on the decline, there are also people talking about Zahabi getting outclassed due to the ex-champ’s experience. The sense that we’re getting is that it looks like the fight’s going to a decision, but it’s tough to say who crosses the finishing line. Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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