Two legends of MMA, Jose Aldo and Marlon “Chito” Vera, are set to meet again—this time under submission grappling rules. The rematch is scheduled for October 4, 2026, in Ecuador, where it will feature as one of the main attractions at a Hype Fighting event. [1]

Six Years Later, This Time on the Mats

Aldo and Vera last faced each other nearly six years ago under MMA rules at UFC Fight Night 183. [1]

Despite already being past the peak years of his legendary career, Aldo delivered an impressive performance against Vera, who is six years younger and was climbing the UFC rankings at the time. Aldo ultimately earned a unanimous decision victory, with all three judges scoring the fight in his favor. [1]

This time, however, there will be no striking or ground-and-pound. Instead, the two will compete under submission grappling rules, putting their pure grappling skills to the test.

That makes the matchup particularly interesting: both athletes developed their grappling within MMA, but how will those skills translate when submissions and positional control become the entire focus of the contest?

Hype Fighting’s Strategic Matchmaking

The matchup also fits into a broader strategy from Hype Fighting, which has increasingly looked to bring major MMA names into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission grappling. [1]

The idea is straightforward: recognizable MMA stars generate media attention and potentially introduce casual fight fans to grappling events.

Aldo has stepped away from MMA competition, while Vera remains an active fighter. [1] Both bring years of experience at the highest levels of MMA, and their established names could help bring a different audience to submission grappling.

Part of a Bigger Trend in Grappling

The timing of the matchup is also interesting given the broader changes currently taking place within professional grappling.

At the elite competitive level, tournaments such as the ADCC World Championships continue to feature increasingly deep fields. At 66 kg, athletes such as Pato, Owen Jones and Dorian Olivarez are among the names generating attention, while the 88 kg division features competitors including Chris Wojcik and Jozef Chen. [2]

At the same time, grappling has long struggled with the question of whether it can become a true spectator sport rather than primarily a sport watched by other practitioners.

Craig Jones has been one of the most vocal figures on this issue. His dissatisfaction with athlete compensation and the structure of professional grappling ultimately contributed to the creation of the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI).

The challenge itself is nothing new. Eddie Bravo, for example, developed Combat Jiu-Jitsu partly as a way of making grappling more accessible and exciting to MMA audiences by introducing open-hand strikes.

Promoters have therefore experimented with different answers to essentially the same question:

How do you make grappling compelling to people who don't already train grappling?

Bringing established MMA stars onto the mats is another possible answer.

Aldo vs. Vera already comes with a story that MMA fans understand. They have fought before, there is an established result to revisit, and both have recognizable names. But placing the rematch under submission grappling rules adds an entirely different technical dimension.

For that reason, the October 4 rematch could serve as more than just an interesting crossover fight. It is also another example of professional grappling trying to find ways to connect the existing jiu-jitsu audience with the much larger global MMA fanbase.

Sources

[1] Jose Aldo And Marlon Vera Set For Grappling Rematch — Jits Magazine
[2] Can we get a little hype for the matchups and athletes amidst all of our complaints? — r/bjj