Conor McGregor put aside his rivalry with Jose Aldo after UFC 194.
‘Notorious’ became the undisputed featherweight champion by knocking Aldo out cold in 13 seconds when they fought in December 2015.
One shot was all McGregor needed to end Aldo’s title reignCredit: Getty Images
Naturally, Aldo was devastated as he waited in the middle of the Octagon for UFC announcer Bruce Buffer to confirm his ten-year winning run had come to a brutal end.
McGregor spotted the heartbroken ‘King of Rio’ with his head bowed and decided to drop his bad guy act to offer him some kind words during a tough moment.
Heartwarming footage shows ‘Notorious’ tapping his rival on the shoulder and apologising for the fact their eagerly anticipated fight ended so quickly.
McGregor then promised to give Aldo a rematch, but it never happened.
“I’m sorry. We will go again. We’ll go again,” he said with a thumbs up.
The UFC superstar was understandably delighted with his win and did talk up his power, but he also expressed sympathy for Aldo during a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
“Nobody can take that left-hand shot,” McGregor said.
“I tell you, he’s powerful and he’s fast, but precision beats power and timing beats speed.
Aldo looked distraught about the defeatCredit: UFC
Even McGregor felt sorry for himCredit: UFC
He tried to cheer him up with a rematch offerCredit: UFC
“Honestly, I feel for Jose. He was a phenomenal champion and we deserved to go a bit longer. But I do feel, at the end of the day, precision beats power and timing beats speed.
“So, it would’ve happened sooner or later.”
McGregor’s classy reaction to beating Aldo was somewhat surprising due to the fact the two featherweights had one of the most heated rivalries in MMA history ahead of UFC 194.
Dana White decided to take the two men on a world tour and all hell broke loose ahead of their ill-fated fight at UFC 189, which fell apart when Aldo suffered a rib injury and was replaced by Chad Mendes.
Famously, McGregor snatched Aldo’s UFC belt and held it aloft for several seconds as everyone at the Dublin press conference cheered him on.
It was typical of McGregor’s behaviour before their fight, which included farting in Aldo’s direction, grabbing his neck and calling him every name under the sun.
McGregor and Aldo shared one of the most heated rivalries in UFC historyCredit: getty
Amazingly, the two UFC legends have struck up a friendship in recent years.
Aldo is set to end his brief MMA retirement when he squares off against streaking bantamweight contender Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301 on Saturday night.
McGregor will almost certainly be voicing his support for his old rival on social media, and Aldo will be doing the same when ‘Mystic Mac’ makes his long-awaited return to MMA next month.
Michael Chandler will welcome McGregor back from a three-year injury layoff in the main event of UFC 303 on June 29.
With several press conferences ahead, fans can expect to see shades of the McGregor who tortured Aldo before UFC 194, rather than the one who consoled his rival post-fight.
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