The accomplishments of Jose Aldo speak for themselves. For a decade, he reigned supreme over the featherweight division; through the WEC, the UFC, and the entire world. Much like the pioneers of BJ Penn and Jens Pulver before him did with lightweight, he put the 145-pound class on the map and made people tune in to see his dominance, frightening speed and crushing leg kicks. After such a long time at the top, and losing his title twice, Aldo is finally wanting to part ways with the UFC according to his coach Andres Pederneiras.

“We’re still talking to see how much [Jose Aldo] wants to keep fighting or not. I think Aldo’s career is a career that nobody can talk badly about. He can do whatever he wants. To retire, to continue, to make a superfight. He is thinking. He is a guy who has managed to make a lot of money over the course of his career and he can retire today without depending on anyone. He will never go hungry in his life. He invested his money, he knew how to save it. I’ve never heard him talk about stopping. I think Aldo has been at it for a long time, in a very continuous time. I think Aldo could take a vacation and feel that motivation to return. I already talked to him, but he wants to end the UFC contract as soon as possible.”

“With Conor [McGregor], it was a defeat, that firstly we did not expect, and secondly, the way it happened, it was so fast, we couldn’t show anything. One fighter threw, the other also threw, one hit the chin and the other the eyebrow and he had not lost in the UFC yet. The impact [on him] was very large. Losing at home was [also] very bad, in front of the crowd. They are similarly weighted losses. Aldo has wanted to do boxing for a long time. This happened for Conor, but this wasn’t of interest between us and the UFC. We had other issues that we went to Vegas to talk to Dana about. He asked to fight boxing, Dana denied and, later, Conor was fighting boxing. He did not have the thought he thought he might have. Months before he asked, the answer was no. Months later Conor manages to fight in boxing without problem and the UFC allowed it. Of course he has a lot of money involved and in his [Aldo’s] fight he would not, but not everything in life is money. He became quite unmotivated.” — Andre Pederneiras speaking to Combate by way of MMA NYTT.

Of course, the last we saw of Jose Aldo, he was beaten back-to-back for the first time ever in his career by Max Holloway. The show of respect these two warriors gave to each other was in stark contrast to his first ever defeat in the UFC at the hands of Conor McGregor, who rose to insane new heights after his 13-second knockout of Aldo. If boxing is the path for Jose Aldo now though, no question his loyal fans will follow him. While he may still feel his job isn’t quite done in MMA, there’s nothing left for him to accomplish. He will always remain one of — if not the — greatest featherweight of all time.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/2/2018