Jose Aldo may have only recently retired from the UFC, but his legacy will never be forgotten.

Born in Manaus in the state of Amazonas on September 9, 1986, the Brazilian MMA fighter acquired the nickname "Junior" - and the rest is history.

Over the course of a career spanning nearly 20 years, most of it spent with the UFC, he entertained the masses

He won the UFC featherweight title twice, as well as unsuccessfully challenging for the vacant bantamweight championship on one occasion.

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But it was during his time in the WEC where Aldo first made a name for himself.

And he did that in style, often winning fights in the first round after landing a deadly flying knee to his opponent.

Known by his nickname 'The King of Rio', Aldo claimed the WEC 145lb belt with a second-round demolition of Mike Brown in 2009, making two further successful title defences of it against Urijah Faber and Manny Gamburyan respectively in 2010.

VIDEO: Jose Aldo's dominant run in the WEC

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That followed an impressive five-fight winning streak including victories over Jonathan Brookins, Chris Mickle, Rolando Perez and Cub Swanson.

All-told, Aldo's record in the WEC stands at eight victories, seven knockouts and zero defeats.

It really was nothing short of incredible.

Dana White pays tribute to Jose Aldo after retirement announcement

UFC president Dana White meanwhile had nothing but nice things to say about Aldo after he retired following a defeat to Merab Dvalishvili last month at UFC 278.

“We love him,” White said at the DWCS 55 post-fight press conference per MMAJunkie. “This will always be his house.

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"I told him, ‘If you ever need anything here or you ever want to go to an event, this is always your house.’"

"This is a guy that, from the WEC to the UFC, helped build the sport, this brand and Brazil for us," White added. "So we love him, and we always will.

"He’s made a great life for himself down there, too, and done some great things and made a lot of money, and I couldn’t be happier for him and his family.

“I think the fight was in Rio when he jumped out of the octagon and jumped into the crowd, and the crowd was carrying him around, and the place was going nuts. It’s one of my favourite Jose Aldo moments.”