Jose Aldo named to Forbes’ ’30 Under 30′ list despite loss to Conor McGregor
With each passing year, the sport of mixed martial arts – and its top promotion, the UFC – leaps further into the collective consciousness of mainstream America.
From the UFC’s partnership with FOX to its regularly successful pay-per-view events taking place all over the globe (featuring a slew of international stars), the future of the company – and sport – has never looked brighter.
Last year marked the most lucrative on record for the Las Vegas-based fight promotion. With the unprecedented success of stars like Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor, the UFC managed to rake in more than $600 million dollars.
Business magazine Forbes released their annual ’30 Under 30’ list recently, celebrating the most influential athletes under the age of 30. And to the surprise of many, the 2016 list had a UFC fighter – but it wasn’t a woman, or an Irishman.
In fact, this Forbes honoree is coming off a loss: Jose “Scarface” Aldo.
“Even with his UFC 194 loss, Aldo would still make any comprehensive list of great UFC fighters,” Forbes wrote. “He was the defending featherweight UFC champion and was ranked No. 1 in official UFC pound-for-pound rankings. He also went a decade without losing a match since 2005 and reigned as a world champion for 6 years.”
Upon hearing the news, Aldo, 29, shared a heartfelt message on social media detailing his shock, and subsequent gratitude at receiving the unexpected honor.
“I have dreamed about a lot of things in my life,” Aldo said. “Being a champion in the fighting world, winning the belt and being #1 pound for pound in the UFC, and as any Brazilian, to play football in the Maracana stadium. Thank God, I’ve been able to make these dreams come true.
“But I’ve never even thought of being in a Forbes list. This is why I’m so grateful and humbled for being selected as one of the most important people in the world under the age of 30.”
Aldo finds himself alongside other 2016 athletic standouts like Madison Bumgarner, Jacob de Grom and Cam Newton.
Aldo joins MMA royalty Ronda Rousey (2014) and Jon Jones (2015) as the only other MMA fighters to receive the honor.
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Ryan McKinnell is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports Cagewriter blog. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
