It appears the relationship between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor has been quickly mended.
While former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor and featherweight legend Jose Aldo became embroiled in one of the promotion’s most notable and heated feuds, their relationship has been surprisingly cordial in recent times.
But earlier this month, that niceness threatened to come collapsing down following the Brazilian’s appearance under the Gamebred Boxing banner. At the April 1 event in Wisconsin, “Junior” fought to a draw against fellow former UFC athlete Jeremy Stephens.
As is often the case when those he has history with compete, McGregor was on hand to comment on the action on social media. Unlike in many instances, however, there was to be no insults thrown, with the Irishman instead simply suggesting that he and Aldo should share the ring.
That message seemingly got lost in translation somewhere along the way, with Aldo launching a profanity-filled attack on McGregor soon after. During it, he implied that his former opponent had been ‘talking sh*t’.
Having seen McGregor’s bemusement at the rant, Aldo has evidently been shown the error of his ways.
Jose Aldo Admits Fault After Verbal Attack On Conor McGregor
During a recent appearance on MMA Fighting’s Portuguese-language podcast Trocação Franca, Aldo acknowledged that he’d misinterpreted McGregor’s tweet following his second post-UFC boxing bout.
With that, he revealed that he sent an apology to McGregor, whom he branded a “friend.”
“I was a little heated,” Aldo said. “I had just re-watched the match in the locker room and I had won, everybody said it, and right after that, a reporter asked me (about McGregor’s comments), and I hadn’t seen what Conor had said. I called him names, laughed a lot, because of that. But when I got to Brazil, I messaged him apologizing because I saw it wasn’t his intention to challenge me, he was trying to give me a push. I misunderstood (his intentions). But we’re cool again. Conor is my friend. I wish him all the best.”
Jose Aldo also addressed the possibility of training with McGregor down the line. While that suggestion perhaps would have seemed a million miles from reality back when they geared up for their 2015 showdown, the Brazilian said he’d now embrace the opportunity to learn from the Irishman.
“Yes. Why not?” Aldo said. “I have to learn a lot in boxing. There are some great Irish boxers, so if I have the opportunity to go to Ireland and train with Conor and the Irish, I’m super open to it, especially pro boxing. It’s a new world, and I have to learn from the best. Conor has good boxing, he fought Mayweather in boxing, so he has a lot to teach me.”
“Junior” and “The Notorious” memorably shared the Octagon in the main event of UFC 194, an event that saw Aldo’s lengthy reign and 18-fight winning streak brought to an end courtesy of a 13-second knockout.
In recent years, the pair’s bad-blood feud has dissipated into an unlikely friendship. And with McGregor’s past dip into the boxing world, perhaps Aldo’s post-UFC venture will see the pair link up in the gym soon.