Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor are pretty tight these days, if you can believe it.
After having a moment to bask in the announcement of his upcoming UFC Hall of Fame induction, the legendary former featherweight champion spoke to the media backstage at UFC 283 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday and he shared an update on his relationship with McGregor, a former blood rival.
Aldo answered a question about regretting not getting a rematch against McGregor, after “Notorious” knocked him out in 13 second at UFC 194,. He said that it was too late.
“Maybe back in the day it would have been an awesome event, but not today,” Aldo said via a Portuguese translator. “People, everywhere I go now — I do have a lot of respect for him. We’re friends. We even follow each other on Instagram, we exchange dialogue there, and sometimes fans come up to me and say, ‘Do you feel like beating McGregor or something?’
“I say, ‘How can I do that? This is the man who made me the most.
“I have nothing but respect and kind of a friendship now, [I wouldn’t think of a rematch] these days.”
Aldo, 36, announced his retirement from MMA competition this past August and is currently scheduled to compete in boxing on Feb. 10 against a still-to-be-determined opponent. When he steps into the ring for that event, he’ll have one more thing in common with McGregor, who battled Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a massive crossover bout in 2017.
Given their friendly relationship, McGregor might be able to offer advice to McGregor on the best way to move from MMA into boxing.
“It’s usually good stuff,” Aldo said when asked what he and McGregor message about. He’s coming off a major injury so it is just a matter of exchanging information. He has a massive impact on the sport. It’s just usually good stuff that we talk about.”
Aldo rebounded from McGregor’s loss and defeated Frankie Edgar to win an interim featherweight title. He laughed when asked about the rumor McGregor left a pair red panties at his door in a way that McGregor believed was true.
He then confirmed that the gesture did happen, which Aldo understood as a sign of respect from McGregor, who coined the “red panty night” catchphrase to indicate a big money fight.
“It was just good-hearted, lighthearted fun,” Aldo said. “We were in Red Rock owned by Lorenzo [Fertitta] in Vegas and we were window to window and there was a night I beat Frankie Edgar, so he just sent it out as a lighthearted joke. I didn’t do anything with it. Maybe. I could even get my missus to wear it or something.”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/1/22/23566145/jose-aldo-confirms-conor-mcgregor-once-put-red-panties-on-his-door-they-regularly-message-each-other?rand=96749
