It’s because he’s one of them — a poor kid with the scars of a difficult early life visible to all, having risen to become something more than just a tremendous fighter and one of the best of his generation. He’s a beacon of hope, a respite from whatever else might be going on in a life that is probably going to get more difficult, complicated, messy, stressful, or whatever else once the 30 minutes that encompassed his return, fight with Jonathan Martinez, and post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier had expired.
The same goes for Alexandre Pantoja, perhaps even more so in some ways.
RELATED: Alexandre Pantoja Post-Fight Interview | Octagon Interview
He’s not an icon the same way Aldo is, nor do we talk about him with the same kind of reverence, because while the former featherweight champion and UFC Hall of Fame inductee was an unquestioned generational talent early on, Pantoja has been a grinder, hovering around the Top 10 for a number of years before finally breaking into the Top 5, claiming the title and successfully defending the belt twice.
Where Aldo has performances that are etched in the memories of every fan that saw them as they happened (or soon after), the flyweight titleholder has been all guile and heart, tenacity and moxie, with a little good fortune mixed in during the course of his championship run, and that is even more identifiable than being a genius-level talent.