Like many Brazilian fighters, Alessandro Costa’s career has been heavily influenced by Jose Aldo. And being days away from sharing a card with the MMA legend, Costa has no problem fanboying over this moment.
Costa (13-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) fights Kevin Borjas (9-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on Saturday in the opening bout of UFC 301 in Brazil – the same card where Aldo makes his highly anticipated return to MMA. Aldo, a former UFC and WEC featherweight champion, is coming out of MMA retirement to take on rising contender Jonathan Martinez in the co-main event of the card at Rio Arena in Rio de Janeiro (pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+).
This is a special moment for Costa, who’s almost in disbelief that he’s sharing the same card with the man that inspired him to begin his combat sports journey 14 years go.
“For me, this is a dream come true,” Costa told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “When I first started training jiu-jitsu when I was 14 years old, I would chat with my coach about how crazy would it be to one day be up there in the UFC fighting in an event with Jose Aldo. Because of him, I got a lot of motivation to start fighting. He has a movie called Más Forte Que O Mundo where it shows his life and as a person and an athlete he’s inspired me a ton.
“So when I heard he was fighting on the same card, it was just incredible. I’ve never met him. I don’t know him, this will be the first time I see him. Interestingly enough, we’re both from Manaus, we’re from the same city. Actually, my first amateur fight was in his academy, where he first started training.”
This dream of Costa’s almost didn’t come to fruition, and in fact, just a few months ago seemed impossible.
Aldo retired from MMA in September 2022 after losing a decision to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278. He did resume a boxing career after that, but was pretty clear that MMA was a closed chapter. However, that all changed in March when it was reported that Aldo was making a comeback at UFC 301.
“This is a dream,” Costa explained. “When he retired, I was like, ‘Oh, man. It’s not happening,’ but then I got this fight in Brazil, and it so happens to be that my idol is making his return on the same card. This is so cool. I’m so happy to be fighting in Brazil and be getting this opportunity to share the card with someone I admire.”
On top of sharing a card with Aldo, this will also be the first time Costa fights professionally in his homeland. The 28-year-old, who trains out of Brazilian Warriors and Lobo Gym in Mexico, has only fought in the U.S. and Mexico.
All around, this is a memorable moment in Costa’s career.
“I started my MMA career in Mexico, all of my career has been there,” Costa said. “I’m curious to see how the public is going to treat me. I’m not very well known in Brazil. All of my career has been in Mexico and now that I’m in the UFC, people in Brazil are just starting to get to know me. I’m happy to be fighting in Brazil because my dad is going to be able to come, and I’m bringing my first coach, who was who got me started in all of this. They’re going to be there, as well as friends. But above everything, being able to fight on the same card as one of my idols Jose Aldo, it’s something that’s very special.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.
