One of the greatest fighters José Aldo and his wife recently welcomed a child, and it might not have happened without Dana White.
Jose retired from MMA after a long career in the octagon. The ‘King of Rio’ is considered one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time after a once-dominant reign as UFC featherweight champion.
Aldo is still a big presence in the sport and has hinted at a move to boxing for his next combat sports challenge. He is also spending more time with his family after choosing to hang up the MMA gloves for good.
A recent addition to Aldo’s family could have ended tragically had it not been for a conversation between White and Aldo when he requested his release to the UFC.
During an appearance on MMA Fighting’s Portuguese-language podcast Trocação Franca, Jose Aldo revealed that his text exchange with Dana White that day may have saved the life of Jose Aldo III.
“A friend of mine was looking into some boxing things for me and said I needed to prepare a statement saying he could consult the UFC,” Aldo said. “I did that and texted Dana on Thursday, and Dana wrote me back thanking me for everything, saying the UFC was always open for me, the [Performance Institute], and everything I needed. He has great affection for me and my family, he was always very close to us.
“After that emotional message – it wasn’t a boss talking to his employee, it was two people that like each other – I showed it to [my wife] Vivianne. She was still pregnant at the time and got emotional, her blood pressure went up and we had to go to the hospital. She [went back for some tests and] was admitted to the hospital on Friday. She had preeclampsia and [the blood pressure] went up after Dana’s message.”
“It looked like everything would go wrong. He was born with a true knot [in his umbilical cord], and if we had waited two more weeks, I wouldn’t be at home with little Aldo here.”