Jose Aldo has always been linked to the night he lost his UFC featherweight title in 13 seconds. Now the Brazilian says the tears in his locker room after UFC 194 were never about the knockout. They were about the rematch he was told he would never get.
Aldo opened up on the loss to Conor McGregor during the 400th episode of the Mundo da Luta podcast with hosts Ana Hissa, Luciano Andrade and Gleidson Venga. McGregor knocked him out with a single left hand on Dec. 12, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and the UFC later released footage of Aldo crying with his team backstage.
Aldo explained that, in his mind, a loss that fast meant an immediate second fight, according to a translation by MMA Fighting.
I cried a lot because, in my mind, after I lost, I thought, ‘F***, 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.'
Dana White delivered the news in the locker room
That hope did not last the night. Aldo said UFC president Dana White came into the locker room and told him McGregor was done at 145 pounds.
But then Dana comes and tells me that Conor can’t make weight anymore, so they can’t do that fight,” Aldo said. “[White] said he was going to move up to lightweight because it was too difficult for him and he couldn’t do it anymore. It was the last time he was going to make featherweight, win or lose.
Lance reported that Aldo said then-UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta was in the room with White as well. Aldo told a similar story in early 2016, saying White informed his camp after the fight that his next bout would be against Frankie Edgar because McGregor was moving up, according to SporTV.
That’s why I was crying,” Aldo said. “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?
The rematch that never came
White’s prediction held. McGregor never fought at featherweight again, going on to win the UFC lightweight title, while Aldo spent years calling for the rematch. Aldo eventually reclaimed the 145-pound title in McGregor’s absence and later dropped to bantamweight for another title run before retiring.
Aldo also told the hosts the loss came down to McGregor landing first, not to the trash talk getting into his head. “It wasn’t my mistake, it was much more his merit for connecting a strike,” he said on the podcast.
The two former rivals are on friendly terms these days. Last month, Aldo urged McGregor to drop back to lightweight after the knee injury that ended his comeback fight against Max Holloway.
