Jose Aldo has taken the time to reflect on his Dec. 2015 knockout loss to Conor McGregor.
Aldo had ruled the roost in the UFC’s featherweight division and looked to be unstoppable. While he wasn’t exactly putting away opponents as consistently as he was in WEC, Aldo was still at the top of the heap at 145 pounds before meeting Conor McGregor.
Jose Aldo Reflects On Conor Mcgregor Loss
Appearing on Cris Cyborg’s YouTube channel, Aldo discussed his 13-second knockout loss to McGregor (h/t MMAFighting.com).
“We never expect to lose — and lose like that,” Aldo said. “It’s a sport and it’s 50-50, of course, it could happen one day. As long as we’re fighting, losing is a possibility, but I was so confident in my head going into this fight. ‘No, I’m super well-prepared, I can’t see how this guy wins.’ For everything that was said and everything that was going on, my team and I were positive that we would get there and defeat him. And that’s not what happened.”
Aldo admitted that doubt started to creep in his mind following the loss to McGregor. He said that after the loss to McGregor, he took a more measured approach to win the interim gold against Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 back in July 2016.
McGregor went on to add the UFC lightweight title to his mantle. He became the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two different weight classes simultaneously.
The coronavirus pandemic cost Aldo a bantamweight title bout. Aldo was set to challenge Henry Cejudo for the 135-pound gold on May 9. Due to travel restrictions, the UFC gave the championship opportunity to Dominick Cruz.
Aldo made his bantamweight debut back in Dec. 2019. Despite concerns of his weight cut, Aldo hit his target weight and performed well against Marlon Moraes. He ended up losing the bout via split decision.
