Conor McGregor’s rivalry with Jose Aldo was one of the biggest rivalries in the sport’s history which spanned over years.
Having been out of the Octagon for over four years now, Conor McGregor recently made a huge revelation that he has made the adequate steps to return to action next year.
After Donald Trump announced that the UFC will hold an event at the White House on July 4, McGregor almost immediately re-entered the drug testing pool to be able to return on the one-of-a-kind event.
And ahead of what would be a monumental comeback, his longtime head coach John Kavanagh has recently spoken about one of McGregor’s biggest ever wins against Jose Aldo.
McGregor’s coach was expecting a loss against Jose Aldo
At the time, ‘The King of Rio’ was undoubtedly the greatest featherweight of all time having reigned over the 145lb division for over 10 years.
And his rivalry with ‘The Notorious’ started in 2015 when they were booked to fight for the title but the Brazilian withdrew on just a few weeks’ notice after suffering a broken rib.
McGregor went on to fight Chad Mendes for the interim title, knocking him out in the second round to earn his shot at the undisputed title.
Aldo vs McGregor was then promoted for almost a year as the two took part in a world tour, traveling to Brazil, Ireland and other places for press conferences, building the anticipation for the fight.
Considering how dominant Aldo had been over the years, McGregor’s coach Kavanagh recently revealed that he was expecting to lose at UFC 194 but learned the lesson of ‘mental warfare’ throughout the build up to the fight.
“This fight was not 13 seconds long. It was 13 months long. Going in, I didn’t fancy our chances. I was overwhelmed being a lifetime fan of Andre Pederneiras and of course the pound-for-pound (number one) Aldo. I learned about mental warfare here,” Kavanagh said in a recent post on X.
Of course, McGregor went on to knock Aldo out within the first 13 seconds of the opening round, scoring one of the craziest knockouts in the promotion’s history.
Who will McGregor make his comeback against?
Although Aldo was one of the most dominant champions ever up until that point, the two never ended up rematching as the Irishman immediately moved up to lightweight following his 145lb title win.
And with the 37-year-old set to make his comeback in 2026, fans are wondering who he will fight. It seems likely that at this point, he will grant Michael Chandler the fight that he has waited so long for, which would be a fitting fight to take place at the White House.