JOSÉ ALDO ADMITS he would relish the opportunity to share the Octagon with Conor McGregor once again, after the Irishman dethroned the then-featherweight champion in December 2015.
McGregor tweeted in response to Aldo’s victory over Renato Moicano at UFC Fortaleza on Saturday night, praising the passion of the Brazilian crowd.
He also expressed an interest in fighting in Brazil when he returns to the UFC and asked about the tweet after the fight, Aldo said the outcome of a rematch would differ to McGregor’s 13-second knockout at UFC 194.
One stipulation Aldo did mention if a rematch was to take place, was his desire to fight at lightweight.
This would most likely suit McGregor who has not fought in the UFC at 145lbs since his victory over the 32-year-old – competing twice at welterweight [170lbs] and twice at lightweight [155lbs].
“To me it would be great,” he said. “I don’t know if this fight he said [would be] in Rio, it didn’t get to me.
“But if I have that opportunity at the division above, that way I don’t have to suffer through the weight cut, I think it would be a great fight.
I think in the first fight we weren’t able to show my work. He connected with a great punch, but if you have another opportunity, I think the story’s going to be different.”
The Brazilian has failed to hit the heights of his former dominance following the defeat.
Aldo overcame Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 to win the interim 145lbs title, but then lost consecutive fights against current featherweight champion, Max Holloway.
Victory over Moicano saw him pick up consecutive wins with promotion for the first time in more than four years.
Aldo also name-checked featherweight contender Brian Ortega in his post-fight press conference as another possible match-up.
McGregor, meanwhile, comes off the back of a defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov last October and has been rumoured to fight Donald Cerrone when his six-month retroactive suspension ends in April.
The number two ranked lightweight remains firmly in the title picture, alongside Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier.
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