Jose Aldo Reveals His Tears After Conor McGregor KO Weren’t About Losing

For Jose Aldo, losing to Conor McGregor at UFC 194 in December 2015 was more than a rough night. The Brazilian’s 7-fight winning streak in UFC and years of domination evaporated after the Irishman’s left-hand knockout ended the contest in just 13 seconds of the first round. The UFC captured the emotional aftermath of the defeat by releasing locker room footage of Aldo breaking down in tears. 

Over a decade later, Aldo disclosed that he was not particularly crying about the defeat itself. In an interview with Mundo da Luta, the Brazilian revealed his tears came after Dana White informed him that McGregor would move up to lightweight and wouldn’t face him for a rematch.

“I cried a lot because, in my mind, after I lost, I thought, ‘F—k, there’s going to be a rematch because I was a dominant champion,’” Aldo said. “Up until that point, I was the first and only featherweight champion in history. So, in my mind, I thought, ‘There’s going to be a rematch, I’m going to fight him again, and it’s going to be a whole new story. But then Dana comes and tells me that Conor can’t make weight anymore, so they can’t do that fight.

“(Dana White) said he was going to move up to lightweight because it was too difficult for him (featherweight) and he couldn’t do it anymore. It was the last time he was going to make featherweight, win or lose. That’s why I was crying. Everyone thinks I was crying because I lost. No, I was crying because I knew we weren’t going to fight again. There was no way for me to get that win back, you know?”  

Jose Aldo’s emotional breakdown was never simply about losing to Conor McGregor. It was Aldo realizing that his chance at redemption had slipped away for good. That truth comes into focus when we look at Aldo’s relentless attempts to secure a rematch with the Irishman. 

MMA: UFC 194-Aldo vs McGregor-Weigh Ins December 11, 2015 Las Vegas, NV, USA Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor pose for photos as they are separated by UFC president Dana White during weigh-ins for UFC 194 at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena NV USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xGaryxA.xVasquezx 8989915

Right after the UFC 194 loss, Aldo told the Brazilian MMA outlet Combate that processing the defeat against McGregor was hard for him. Plus, he revealed that he had pushed Dana White to book the rematch.

However, later developments indicated the UFC was more invested in the Dublin native’s move to lightweight than in a second fight with Aldo.

During a media scrum in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the former featherweight champion recalled that Dana White and ex-UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta visited his locker room and urged him to fight Frankie Edgar for the featherweight belt. 

As per Aldo, they explained that McGregor was moving up to 155 pounds, citing the Irish fighter’s problems making 145 pounds, and that was when he realized the idea of fighting McGregor was “over.”

Though Jose Aldo has been open about facing Conor McGregor in a rematch, this is the first time he has revealed the reason behind his tears. Even so, ‘The Notorious’ once showed a brief and informal interest in fighting the Brazilian once again. 

Conor McGregor briefly considered a rematch with Jose Aldo   

Right after his record-breaking knockout, Conor McGregor approached Jose Aldo during the winner announcement and faintly hinted about a rematch. During the post-fight press conference, the Irishman reflected on the moment with a clearer answer.

“What I said was, ‘Look we can go again.’ Although it’s a nice feeling to get that knockout, it’s kind of not nice because you can see what’s happening around,” McGregor said. “You don’t want to see the only champion in the company’s history going out like that.”

Though McGregor showed brief interest in clashing with Jose Aldo once again, the process was far from straightforward. The Dublin native wanted the featherweight contenders to fight among themselves to earn a shot, while he chased bigger fish in the lightweight division.

“Maybe, I feel, there’s a couple of contenders in the mix,” McGregor added at the UFC 194 presser. “Let them maybe compete against each other while I go up and take the lightweight belt, allow a contender to emerge, and go back down and take out that contender and then go back up after a lightweight contender has emerged and take out that contender.”

McGregor planned to defend both belts. However, his immediate target happened to be Rafael Dos Anjos for the double-champ status at UFC 196. The fight collapsed because Dos Anjos suffered an injury, forcing McGregor to fight replacement opponent Nate Diaz for a non-title main event. 

With no rematch in sight, ‘The King of Rio’ fought Frankie Edgar for the interim featherweight belt at UFC 200, which Aldo won via unanimous decision.

He was promoted from interim to undisputed champion later, after the UFC stripped McGregor of the featherweight title following his win over Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. That marked the end of the Irishman’s stint at 145 pounds and Aldo’s dream of a rematch.

Since then, the prospect of Aldo vs. McGregor 2 has remained one of the biggest what-ifs in UFC history.

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