‘What a legend’… Israel Adesanya pays tribute to Jose Aldo after emotional retirement at UFC 315

Israel Adesanya heaped praise on Jose Aldo after watching him retire at UFC 315.

The former two-time UFC featherweight champion suffered a razor-thin decision defeat to Georges St-Pierre’s teammate, Aieman Zahabi, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Saturday night.

Post-fight, Jose Aldo announced his retirement from MMA after a legendary 42-fight career in the sport.

Another two-time UFC champion, Israel Adesanya, has paid homage to the departing 145lb GOAT.

READ MORE: Jose Aldo’s retirement blamed on ‘bad judges’ by furious former UFC champion

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCIsrael Adesanya reacts to Jose Aldo retiring Israel Adesanya’s live reaction to Jack Della Maddalena’s win went viral after UFC 315.

Once he’d stopped raving about a new welterweight champion being crowned, ‘The Last Stylebender’ took a moment to reflect on Jose Aldo‘s retirement decision before talking up the UFC Hall of Famer.

“A guy like that, he doesn’t have anything else to prove, so I respect it,” Adesanya said.

“Bro, he is the f—ing man. The King of Rio. One of the best fighters in history ever.

“One of the best [and] longest reigns ever as a champion.

“What a lad. What a legend.”

Jose Aldo explains why he’s walking away Jose Aldo dealt with a serious health issue before UFC 315, but that’s not why he is retiring.

In his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, ‘Scarface’ made an emotional confession.

“I don’t think I have it in me anymore,” Aldo admitted via a translator.

“This was a tough week. It wasn’t just about the cutting of the weight and everything else.

“I just felt that there were just so many things that happened. It was very tough to go through all this.

“There was one point, this was a very tough week, where I felt that I didn’t have it in me. I didn’t wanna cut it anymore, my body said no. I just don’t think I have it anymore. I don’t wanna go into war all the time and go through this. I just don’t have it in my heart anymore.

“I think this is the last time you’re going to see me, I can’t do this no more.”