Aldo has explained why he cried backstage after his knockout loss to Conor McGregor, saying the tears were about a rematch that never came rather than the defeat itself. The former UFC featherweight champion spoke about the loss during the 400th episode of the Mundo da Luta podcast, in an interview reported by MMA Fighting. He lost his title to McGregor in 13 seconds at UFC 194 on Dec. 12, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Footage released by the UFC after the fight showed the Brazilian crying with his team backstage. Many viewers assumed he was crying because he had lost. Aldo said that was not the reason. He said he cried because he believed a fast loss as a long-reigning champion would lead to an immediate rematch, and he learned on the night that it would not happen.
“I cried a lot because, in my mind, after I lost, I thought, ‘There’s going to be a rematch because I was a dominant champion,'” he said. “Up until that point, I was the first and only featherweight champion in history. So, in my mind, I thought, ‘There’s going to be a rematch, I’m going to fight him again, and it’s going to be a whole new story.'” The quote was reported by MMA Fighting from the podcast interview.
Aldo recalls the talk with Dana White
Aldo said UFC president Dana White came into the locker room after the fight and told him McGregor could no longer make the featherweight weight limit. White told him McGregor would move up to lightweight because cutting to 145 pounds had become too difficult. He quoted White as saying it was the last time McGregor was going to make featherweight, win or lose.
“But then Dana comes to the locker room and tells me that Conor can’t make weight anymore, so they can’t do that fight,” he said. “[White] said he was going to move up to lightweight because it was too difficult for him to make 145 and he couldn’t do it anymore. It was the last time he was going to make featherweight, win or lose.” Aldo said that news, not the knockout, caused his tears.
“That’s why I was crying,” he said. “Everyone thinks I was crying because I lost. No, I was crying because I knew we weren’t going to fight again. There was no way for me to get that win back, you know?” The loss ended an 18-fight unbeaten run that had lasted for nearly a decade, according to reports of the interview. He had been the first featherweight champion in UFC history.
Aldo chased a rematch that never arrived
White’s prediction held. McGregor never fought at featherweight again after UFC 194. He went on to win the UFC lightweight title, while the Brazilian spent years calling for a rematch. Aldo later regained the 145-pound title in McGregor’s absence, then faced Max Holloway twice for featherweight gold at UFC 212 and UFC 218 in 2017. Aldo later dropped to bantamweight and lost to Petr Yan in a vacant title fight at UFC 251 in July 2020 in Abu Dhabi.
He also told the podcast hosts that the loss came down to McGregor landing first, not to trash talk getting into his head. “It wasn’t my mistake, it was much more his merit for connecting a strike,” he said. That point matters because the build-up to UFC 194 had been heavy on talk from McGregor, and many fans linked his defeat to that talk. He rejected that reading and credited McGregor for landing the punch that ended the fight in 13 seconds.
The two men are now on friendly terms, according to MMA News. The Brazilian is retired and is a UFC Hall of Famer, while McGregor’s fighting future remains uncertain. McGregor lost his last fight in July against Holloway in their rematch at UFC 329 in Las Vegas, a fight ended by a knee injury. Aldo urged McGregor in September to return to lightweight after that injury, saying he hoped McGregor could recover and return to competition.
Aldo looks back on a title run ended in seconds
For Aldo, the regret is clear from his own words. He did not say he regretted losing, or that he wished the fight had gone differently in the cage. He said his biggest regret was not getting the chance to avenge the loss. That chance closed in the locker room at UFC 194, when White told him McGregor was done at 145 pounds. He has now told that story in full, more than a decade after the fight that ended his first title reign.