Jose Aldo Shrugs Off Marlon Vera Grappling Rematch: 'Just Here to Have Fun'

Jose Aldo runs it back with Marlon Vera on Sunday in Ecuador, this time on the mat under submission-only grappling rules for Hype. It's an eight-minute match, and it comes 17 months after Aldo last competed. His training regimen for it? Tennis and footvolley, by his own admission.

Aldo already holds a win over Vera from their 2020 octagon meeting, a decision that marked his first victory after dropping to bantamweight. He hasn't set foot in a gym in over a year and says he hasn't done anything special to prepare. The pitch from him is simple: he spent his whole life on the mats, competed in jiu-jitsu every weekend, and the striking reputation he built in the UFC never told the full story.

The Money Talked

This wasn't Aldo's first offer from Hype. He said the promotion came to him in March for a bout against Jean Silva in Rio, then again a month later for a match in Sao Paulo. He passed on both. When he finally revealed the purse for this eight-minute outing, Aldo joked his friends nearly wanted to fight him themselves over the number.

The gap in activity is real. Vera has fought three times in the UFC since Aldo's final octagon appearance, most recently stopping Charles Jourdain (18-9-1) by third-round knockout. 'Chito' also grappled Jean Silva — now the UFC's No. 6 featherweight at 18-3 — to a draw in Sao Paulo earlier this year. Aldo, meanwhile, has been playing racquet sports.

No Nerves at Altitude

Vera brings 10 career submission wins and a conditioning edge from staying active, and Quito's 9,350-foot altitude is no joke — Aldo, a soccer obsessive, has watched it wreck Brazilian teams for years. He's not worried about any of it. His assistant for this so-called camp, a friend named Jofre, spent weeks trying to drag him back to the mats. Aldo kept telling him training is exhausting and they can do it when they land.

Aldo was blunt about where his respect ends. He rates Vera's quality and conditioning, but says if he were facing a pure grappler like Mica Galvao, or a submission artist like Charles Oliveira, he'd actually have to prepare. Against a UFC fighter who isn't a specialist? If he feared getting submitted by Vera, Aldo said, he might as well tear up his black belt. He's going for fun, no pressure, and he's fine either way.