José Aldo vs Jonathan Martinez UFC 301 Live Play By Play Blog
José Aldo returns to the octagon to face Jonathan Martinez in the co-main event of UFC 301 PPV in a bantamweight bout.
Aldo, who announced his retirement in September 2022, has since took on boxing matches with 2 wins and 1 draw in results. The first-ever UFC Featherweight Champion, Aldo returns to take on #12 ranked bantamweight fighter Jonathan Martinez.
Martinez is on a six-fight winning streak with big wins over Said Nurmagomedov and Adrian Yanez in 2023. Will he get another scalp in the form of Aldo. Tune in below for the complete round-by-round updates from José Aldo vs Jonathan Martinez co-main event bantamweight bout at UFC 301 PPV.
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Round 1: Martinez starts in a southpaw stance. Aldo keeps a high gaurd despite Martinez hitting calf kicks early on. Martinez also attempts a knee strike to the mid section. Aldo hits a punch to body as the second minute starts. Aldo checks Martinez’s calf kicks quickly after that. Both men playing more of a waiting game in the first two minutes. Aldo hits a high kick to the face. Martinez trips in attempting a kick to midsection. He quickly gets up. Aldo lands a punch before Martinez hits a calf kick. We are halfway into the round. Aldo blocks a jab and lands a body shot. More punches traded from both sides. Martinez has stopped hitting calf kicks. He lands a kick on Aldo’s arm. Aldo lands a quick right. Martinez answers with a couple of jabs. Aldo lands a series of punch all over the body as the final minute starts. He throws a calf kick with 30 seconds remaining. The rest of the round went by without any hits.
Round 2: Martinez starts with high kicks. Aldo lands a punch on his arm before a calf kicks and a sequence of punches once again. He throws a left hook to the arm. Martinez goes for the takedown butt Aldo defends it. They go the cage and gets in a clinch. Martinez is controlling Aldo’s right wrist. The referee separates them after one minute of inactivity. Martinez lands a few punches. Aldo lands a big right. He lands a high kick. Aldo gets his calf kicks and jabs going as we enter the fourth minute of the round. Martinez sneaks past a couple of jabs, but Aldo also replies with his jabs. Martinez is attempting flair by throwing anything he can – calf kicks, jabs, spinning back fist. They trade punches to end the round.
Round 3: Martinez lets his jabs go. Aldo replies with the same. Martinez attempts calf kicks and side kicks in between their exchange of punches. He attempts a submission but Aldo quickly blocks it. Martinez lands a kick to the ribs. Aldo replies with a combination of punches. Martinez attempts a knee to the face before he lands a punch. Aldo also pearces his defense with his punches. A bit of dull phase before Aldo catches Martinez with a big punch in a counter. He rocks Martinez with more shots before a takedown. He unloads with more punches. They tussle on the mat with 100 seconds to go. Aldo keeps Martinez on the mat for the rest of the round despite Martinez attempting and hitting several shots.
Official Decision: José Aldo won via unanimous decision(30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
