“I was really close to my father since I was young. He always told me that I had to work in order to become a man, so I had to stay with him when my mother left. He always took me to work to help him as a bricklayer. I was just a kid, so I did what I could do to help him.”

Brazilian former mixed martial artist

José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júnior is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the UFC’s bantamweight and featherweight divisions and became the inaugural UFC Featherweight Champion after the UFC and WEC merged. Aldo also held the interim UFC featherweight title and was the final WEC Featherweight Champion. He defended the UFC featherweight belt seven times and the WEC title twice, a record that has placed him among the most highly regarded featherweights in the sport.