Forbes have released their annual list of 30 individuals under the age of 30 that deserve recognition for the influence they've had on their respective field. There's 20 categories in total meaning 600 individuals are named across disciplines such as media, science, finance and sports.
Out of the 600, there's two Irish entrants in the form of Saoirse Ronan and Web Summit co-founder Daire Hickey. That means that there's a certain UFC featherweight champion missing sporting list. Perhaps that's not overly surprising, Conor McGregor, for all his bravado is not as well known as the likes of Steph Curry, Cam Newton or Sergio Aguero but when you see that Jose Aldo is also on the list, it is a bit of a head-scratcher.
Aldo was a truly worthy champion. He's been an MMA great and at 29, he still is an MMA great. Anyone who denigrates his legacy could really do with taking a look at what he did over the past ten years. But he's not exactly a breakout star who has transcended his sport.
The 30 for 30 list isn't necessarily about fame but it's certainly strange that it was in a year where he fought once and lost once that Aldo was included. Nonetheless, Forbes have decided to pay tribute to his achievements.
Even with his UFC 194 loss, Aldo would still make any comprehensive list of great UFC fighters. He was the defending featherweight UFC champion and was ranked No. 1 in official UFC pound-for-pound rankings. He also went a decade without losing a match since 2005 and reigned as a World Champion for 6 years.
A fitting tribute and the UFC rightly enough highlighted that.
Congratulations @JoseAldoJunior on making @Forbes #30under30 list! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 https://t.co/ftBdSdffet
— UFC (@ufc) January 5, 2016
However, as you may have expected, there was a rather forthright response to that acknowledgment.
We could go on but you probably get the point at this stage.
