Brendan Schaub believes the UFC could’ve better handled Jose Aldo’s retirement.

‘The King of Rio’ called it quits earlier this week, after an incredible career. The Brazilian captured titles in the WEC and UFC and is a multiple-time featherweight champion. Since 2019, Aldo has been competing in the bantamweight division.

At 135-pounds, the former champion proved to be an incredible challenger, even late into his career. Aldo’s last outing came at UFC 278 last month, in a bout against Merab Dvalishvili. ‘The Machine’ was riding a seven-fight winning streak heading into the contest.

At UFC 278, the Polish fighter outwrestled the former champion. Aldo previously stated he was only interested in competing in MMA at this stage to chase titles. Sadly, his title hopes went up in Salt Lake City last month, as he lost a lackluster decision.

Brendan Schaub believes that Jose Aldo facing off with Merab Dvalishvili was a mistake. On The Schaub Show, the former heavyweight stated that the promotion and the Brazilian’s team made a mistake booking the fight.

The fighter-turned-podcaster stated that the reason why the booking was a mistake as it was known that Aldo’s time was limited. With that in mind, having him face a contender like Dvalishvili was a mistake. The mistake was made worse given the lackluster action in the contest.

“I think retirement is probably the best move because for him, to get back to you know…He’s a guy who fights for championships. And you know…he had a rough patch from 2019-2020, last three in a row. He lost to Volkanovski…Marlon Moraes and Petr Yan. So, then he goes on this three-fight win streak. He beats Chito, Pedro Munhoz, Rob Font…and his team really f***ed up taking that Merab fight.” (h/t Sportskeeda)