Conor McGregor.
McGregor injured his knee in the opening seconds of the rematch Max Holloway in July, which marked the end of a five-year hiatus from the Octagon. He damaged his ACL and meniscus and had surgery in August. The Irishman is targeting a return in the summer of 2027, which would be his final match.
Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.
Not only does Aldo wish the best for McGregor, but he also believes the former two-division champion can shake things up at lightweight and potentially reclaim UFC gold.
Jose Aldo believes Conor McGregor can return to the UFC lightweight title picture at 155
Aldo and McGregor sparred ahead of their 2015 title fight, which McGregor won by knockout in just 13 seconds, ending Aldo’s 18-fight, nearly decade-long winning streak. McGregor often taunted and belittled Aldo as part of his pre-fight psychological warfare.
Still, Aldo no longer holds any ill will toward McGregor and wants him back in the win column. He believes his former nemesis should consider returning to lightweight rather than competing at welterweight if he returns.
“I always hope for the best, so I hope tomorrow he’s fine physically and psychologically and he can come back to the UFC and have great fights again,” Aldo said. MMA fight. “I think he needs to go through some nutritional retraining first to see if he can come back and go lighter. I think he’s got the frame for 155, so that would be good.”
The Brazilian also believes that McGregor can quickly get into title contention with an important win.
“And I’ll tell you this… Today, if Conor fights at 155 and knocks out some names, the division will be wide open again,” Aldo added. “To me, the division has kind of stagnated there. Ilia (Topuria) stepped up and lost to (Justin) Gaethje, so there’s a little bit of confusion and anybody can come in and grab the title.”
