SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – OCTOBER 05: Jose Aldo of Brazil prepares to face Mario Bautista during the … More
“The King of Rio” Jose Aldo looks to bounce back from his October split-decision setback when he steps into the Octagon on the main card of the UFC 315 pay-per-view event to face the surging Aiemann Zahabi. We look at the betting odds, line movement, preview, picks, and predictions for the Aldo vs. Zahabi bantamweight bout on the UFC 315 fight card.
The main event of the ESPN+ streaming PPV card finds UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad making his first defense of his title. Muhammad faces the No. 5 ranked Jack Della Maddalena in that contest. Meanwhile, in the UFC 315 co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko looks to start her second run as the women’s flyweight champion with a victory over the No. 2 ranked contender, Manon Fiorot.
UFC 315 takes place on Saturday, May 10, from Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
UFC 315 Fight Card: Jose Aldo Vs. Aiemann Zahabi
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – OCTOBER 05: Jose Aldo of Brazil is seen in his locker room prior to his fight … More
UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo (32-9) has had a long and storied run with the UFC, and at 38, the former WEC/UFC featherweight champion remains a ranked fighter in the bantamweight division, who has been competing at 135 pounds since 2019, is the No. 11 fighter in the official UFC bantamweight rankings heading into UFC 315.
Aldo was 10-1 when he signed with the WEC in 2008. Aldo dispatched his first four opponents under that promotion’s banner by knockout. That run earned him a featherweight title eliminator against Cub Swanson in June 2009. That fight lasted eight seconds, with Aldo delivering a highlight reel finish that is a must-see finish for those new to the sport. It was, and remains, one of the best knockouts in MMA history.
Aldo followed that win with a TKO of Mike Brown to earn the WEC crown. Title defenses against Urijah Faber and Manny Gamburyan followed. The UFC then absorbed the WEC, and the promotion then installed Aldo as the UFC’s inaugural featherweight champ.
Aldo’s UFC title run lasted seven fights, starting with an August 2011 decision win over Mark Hominick. His last successful title defense came in October 2014 when he knocked out Chad Mendes. Conor McGregor took the UFC featherweight title from Aldo in December 2015 with a nasty knockout, ending the fight in 13 seconds.
When McGregor was stripped of the UFC featherweight crown, Aldo, who had won the interim title with a decision over Frankie Edgar in July 2016, was promoted to undisputed champion. He lost the belt in his first defense, getting knocked out by Max Holloway in June 2017. A second knockout loss to Holloway followed in their title rematch in December 2017.
Aldo followed his two-fight losing skid with back-to-back knockout wins over Jeremy Stephens and Renato Moicano. That winning streak ended with three consecutive defeats between May 2019 and July 2020. During that stretch, Aldo fell to Alexander Volkanovski, Marlon Moraes, and Petr Yan.
Aldo’s downturn had many believing the best days of the future UFC Hall of Famer were behind him. However, Aldo is 4-1 since his loss to Yan, with his only setback being an August 2022 decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili.
Aldo took a long break from MMA after that defeat, but he returned to the Octagon in May, picking up a decision win over the favored Jonathan Martinez.
The 38-year-old Aldo has 17 knockout wins, one submission, and 14 decisions. His losses have come by knockout (four), submission (one), and decision (4).
Aldo is coming off a split-decision loss to Mario Bautista.
EDMONTON, ALBERTA – NOVEMBER 02: Aiemann Zahabi of Canada reacts after a decision victory against … More
Aiemann Zahabi (12-2) gets the biggest test of his career at UFC 315, and just in case facing UFC legend Jose Aldo isn’t enough pressure for the 37-year-old, all of this is happening in his hometown of Montreal, where Zahabi hasn’t fought since 2015, two years before he made his UFC debut.
Zahabi joined the UFC in 2017 with a decision win over Reginaldo Vieira. He followed that with losses to Ricardo Ramos and Vince Morales. He bounced back from those setbacks with five straight wins.
In his most recent bout, Zahabi defeated UFC veteran Pedro Munhoz by decision. That win broke him into the UFC bantamweight rankings. Today, Zahabi is the No. 15 UFC fighter at 135 pounds.
Zahabi is the younger brother of Tristar Gym head trainer Firas Zahabi, who is best known for his time with UFC legend Georges St-Pierre.
UFC 315: Jose Aldo Vs. Aiemann Zahabi Betting Odds And Line Movement
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – OCTOBER 05: Jose Aldo of Brazil prepares to face Mario Bautista in a … More
The opening betting lines, according to BetOnline, for this bantamweight scrap, saw Aldo as the -145 favorite over the +125 Zahabi. Today, Aldo is listed at -192, while Zahabi is +167.
UFC 315 Fight Card Tale Of The Tape: Jose Aldo Vs. Aiemann Zahabi
Jose Aldo
Age: 38
Height: 5’ 7”
Reach: 70”
Stance: Orthodox
Aiemann Zahabi
Age: 37
Height: 5’ 8”
Reach: 68”
Stance: Orthodox
UFC 315 Fight Card Fight Card Predictions and Picks: Jose Aldo Vs. Aiemann Zahabi
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – OCTOBER 04: Jose Aldo of Brazil poses on the scale during the UFC 307 … More
At some point Jose Aldo is going to start looking old in the cage. That has not happened as of yet, and I don’t think it happens against Aiemann Zahabi. Zahabi is well-trained and skilled and he and his team will have him ready for what Aldo will bring. However, knowing what to do and executing are different things when facing a legend like Aldo.
The pick is for Aldo to win via decision.
We will have more on the UFC 315 Aldo vs. Zahabi scrap as fight night nears, as well as live results, reactions, highlights and more for the UFC 315 pay-per-view card on fight night.
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