In a shocking turn of events, Jose Aldo's career in the bantamweight division may be coming to an end after he missed weight for his highly anticipated UFC 315 bout against Aiemann Zahabi in Montreal. The former UFC and WEC champion weighed in at a hefty 143 pounds, prompting the UFC to swiftly change the fight to a featherweight contest.

After the weigh-ins, Aldo expressed some serious contemplation about his future, revealing, 22there's a 'big' chance I'll return to featherweight for my upcoming fights.22 He credited his longtime coach, Andre Pederneiras, saying, 22I've forced too much on this weight. I’ve always hovered around 158 pounds, so the bantamweight cut has been challenging. I think it’s time to stop pushing myself and consider fighting at featherweight from here on out.22

Aldo emphasized his love for fighting but acknowledged that sticking with bantamweight might not be in his best interest anymore, saying it makes no sense to keep struggling with the weight cut. 22First, I need to focus on the fight against Zahabi. Winning tomorrow is crucial, and then we’ll see where I head next.22

Zahabi revealed in an interview with SportsNet that he was just shy of the bantamweight limit at 136.8 pounds when he was informed that Aldo couldn’t make weight. He remarked, 22I was in the process of cutting, and then suddenly got the call that we needed to switch to featherweight. There was no way we could proceed with the bantamweight fight due to the 5-pound weight difference rules in Montreal.22

While Zahabi's team was prepared to continue the cut, Aldo later clarified that he was close to the 139-pound mark when the decision to switch weights was made. 22Everything was going smoothly during my weight cut, but after realizing I couldn’t reach the final target, I consulted with 'Dede'. We made the call, and thankfully, Zahabi was on board to make it happen at featherweight.22

As the fight approaches, fans are left wondering what this means for Aldo’s career trajectory. Will he indeed make the jump permanently back to featherweight? Only time will tell.