Jose Aldo thinks Conor McGregor’s path back to the top runs through lightweight.
McGregor returned at UFC 329 on July 11 in Las Vegas, his first fight in five years. He injured his knee attempting a flying kick early in his welterweight rematch with Max Holloway, and the fight was stopped 69 seconds in. McGregor underwent knee surgery in August and has said he is confident about his recovery.
Aldo, who lost his featherweight title to McGregor in 2015, told MMA Fighting that McGregor should drop back to 155 pounds if he returns in 2027.
I think first he needs to go through some dietary re-education to see if he can get back down and be lighter again. I think, in my opinion, he has the frame for 155, so it would be good.
Aldo believes the division is there for the taking.
“Today, if Conor fights at 155 and beats a name, the division is wide open again. To me, the division has kind of stalled there. Ilia [Topuria] moved up and lost to [Justin] Gaethje, so it’s a bit of a mess there, and anyone can come in and snatch the title.”
McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, has said that 170 is a comfortable cut for McGregor and that it would take something big to justify cutting another 15 pounds. Aldo is not sure what McGregor’s body will look like after another layoff.
His frame has also gotten much bigger, he’s gained a lot of weight and muscle mass, so we don’t know what he’s going to be like when he comes back. But I always hope for the best.
Aldo, who fought both McGregor and Holloway for UFC gold, called the way the rematch ended “sad.”
Everyone waited for him to come back, and then he comes back, you have that fight week, everyone is excited, millions and millions of people [tuning in], and then when the time comes, that happens. I think it could have been a great fight, him and Max, but he got injured.
McGregor knocked out Aldo in 13 seconds at UFC 194 to become featherweight champion. He later won the UFC lightweight title in 2016, becoming the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history.
