Jose Aldo reveals the HEARTBREAKING reason he cried after Conor McGregor knocked him out in just 13 seconds! 😳 It wasn't the loss that broke him. Aldo says Dana White told him backstage that McGregor could no longer make 145 pounds and was moving up to lightweight, meaning their rematch would never happen. 🗣️ “Everyone thinks I was crying because I lost. No, I was crying because I knew we weren't going to fight again.” Nearly 11 years later, Aldo never got the chance to get his revenge.
Jose Aldo says the tears he shed after Conor McGregor knocked him out in 13 seconds had little to do with the defeat itself. The former featherweight champion says he cried because he believed a rematch would never happen.
Aldo's account centers on a conversation backstage after the fight. He says Dana White told him McGregor could no longer make 145 pounds and was moving up to lightweight, which ended any realistic prospect of running it back. In Aldo's telling, people assumed he was crying over losing. He says the real reason was knowing the two would not fight again.
The fight in question took place at UFC 194 on December 12, 2015, where McGregor won by first-round KO/TKO to take the featherweight title. It remains the only recorded meeting between the two. Nearly 11 years on, Aldo has never had the chance to avenge it.
Where they stand now
Aldo, 40, is a Brazilian fighter out of Nova Uniao with a record of 32-10-0. He lands 3.65 significant strikes per minute at 46 percent accuracy. His most recent recorded fight was a unanimous decision loss to Aiemann Zahabi at UFC 315 on May 10, 2025. That came after a split decision loss to Mario Bautista at UFC 307, meaning he has dropped back-to-back fights in our records following a unanimous decision win over Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301.
McGregor, 38, is 22-7-0 and fights out of SBG Ireland. He lands 5.27 significant strikes per minute at 49 percent accuracy. His most recent recorded fight was a first-round KO/TKO loss to Max Holloway at UFC 329 on July 11, 2026. Before that, his previous recorded outings were two losses to Dustin Poirier in 2021.
Why it matters
- The 2015 knockout is the only meeting between two of the sport's biggest names of that era, and Aldo's comments frame it as unfinished business.
- McGregor holds a 4-inch reach advantage, 74 inches to Aldo's 70, and is two years younger.
- Both men are coming off recent losses, with Aldo having lost his last two recorded bouts and McGregor his last three.
Aldo's remarks are his own recollection of a private conversation, and the story rests on his account of what was said backstage.
