Conor McGregor on Jose Aldo's callout after UFC 196: 'That's the sign of a loser'
With Conor McGregor’s stunning second-round submission loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 196 in the books, the idea of McGregor making a run at the welterweight title to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold world titles in two different weight classes at the same time has gone up in smoke.
But McGregor is still the UFC featherweight champion and it’s likely that his next fight will be in defense of that title. It’s still too early to tell who he will end up facing and when, but the Irishman has one opponent who is eagerly seeking revenge.
“Conor, I’ll see you at UFC 200,” Jose Aldo posted with an image of himself. Back in December, McGregor knocked Aldo out in 13 seconds to become the undisputed UFC featherweight champion. Since then, Aldo has been adamant about securing a rematch for the title. “Your Cinderella fantasy is over. Nowhere to run to now. You're gonna have to give me my rematch, you [expletive]!!”
Aldo is still seething from the shockingly fast knockout at the hands of McGregor. Prior to the fight, Many had been seen the Brazilian as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. An animosity-filled build toward the fight culminated in Aldo losing for the first time in a decade.
Although McGregor had plans to fight in the higher weight classes, Aldo has remained firm in stating that the only fight he will accept is a rematch for the title. However, it appeared that Frankie Edgar had earned the right to challenge McGregor for the title after he scored a scintillating first-round knockout of Chad Mendes in December.
McGregor acknowledged after his loss that there would be fighters “celebrating another man’s victory” and revealed that he was talking specifically about Aldo.
“That’s the sign of a loser,” McGregor said. “That’s the sign of a runner-up. That’s not the sign of a champion.”
Admittedly, he’s unsure who he will face next and had rationale for each getting a shot at the title.
“It’s hard not to give [Jose] Aldo another go,” McGregor said. “He was 10 years undefeated. But again, he pulls out a lot; he doesn’t show up. Frankie [Edgar] at least gets in there and competes. I don’t know.”
Ultimately, McGregor said that he’ll leave the decision of his next opponent up to his fans.
“I’ll keep my ear to the ground and see who the fans want to see the most,” he said.
