Jose Aldo didn’t watch UFC 189, open to Conor McGregor fight in Ireland

RIO DE JANEIRO — Conor McGregor became the UFC interim featherweight champion Saturday night, but undisputed champion Jose Aldo didn’t watch his performance.

McGregor stopped Mendes in the second round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and Aldo, who pulled out from the bout with a rib injury, heard from his coach Andre Pederneiras that the fight brought new information about “The Notorious”.

“It’s funny. When my friends aren’t fighting, I don’t even watch it,” Aldo said during a press conference at Nova Uniao on Thursday. “‘Dede’ talked to me about it, said it’s cool, that it was a good fight for us. He saw his game, that Chad was winning while he had gas, and that they shouldn’t have stopped the fight. But when I’m not fighting, I don’t read or watch anything.”

Aldo, who picked Mendes to beat McGregor, said “Mendes won the battle, but McGregor won the fight.” He admitted that a win by Mendes would have meant less money for his next title defense.

“Chad is a really tough fighter, but it wouldn’t be that good financially (to fight him a third time),” he said. “We considered fighting (McGregor) injured, I like those big events, and I was training well. We asked for a deadline to try to recover and fight injured, but I wasn’t recovering as expected. I still feel the pain. I would have fought if I could., but I couldn’t.

“I was upset with this injury. This was one of the biggest fights in the history, and we had all the promotion, everything that was needed. I’ve never been through something like this, especially for a fight that everybody wanted to see. This fight would bring a lot of money.”

Aldo expects to return to training in a couple weeks, ruling out a possible clash between McGregor and Frankie Edgar, but Nova Uniao head coach Pederneiras said they still need to get medical clearance before training.

“Aldo wants to get back to training in two weeks,” Pederneiras said. “I don’t believe Frankie Edgar will fight Conor first. Aldo will be cleared to fight before the end of the year, in November or December. That’s what I think, but I’m not a doctor. We can’t rush anything. He will come back when doctors tell him he’s cleared and there’s no risk of getting injured again.”

UFC president Dana White plans to make Aldo vs. McGregor in Las Vegas, but the 145-pound kingpin wouldn’t shy away from fighting the interim champion in Ireland.

“It would be great, I don’t see any problem with that,” Aldo said. “They can say whatever they want. If they don’t say it in Portuguese, I won’t understand a word so I don’t care. I’m anxious to fight already.”

“Get ready, I’m coming,” Aldo tells McGregor. “He can say whatever he wants, but his weapons are nowhere near what I’m showing him.”

RIO DE JANEIRO — Conor McGregor became the UFC interim featherweight champion Saturday night, but undisputed champion Jose Aldo didn’t watch his performance.

McGregor stopped Mendes in the second round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and Aldo, who pulled out from the bout with a rib injury, heard from his coach Andre Pederneiras that the fight brought new information about “The Notorious”.

“It’s funny. When my friends aren’t fighting, I don’t even watch it,” Aldo said during a press conference at Nova Uniao on Thursday. “‘Dede’ talked to me about it, said it’s cool, that it was a good fight for us. He saw his game, that Chad was winning while he had gas, and that they shouldn’t have stopped the fight. But when I’m not fighting, I don’t read or watch anything.”

Aldo, who picked Mendes to beat McGregor, said “Mendes won the battle, but McGregor won the fight.” He admitted that a win by Mendes would have meant less money for his next title defense.

“Chad is a really tough fighter, but it wouldn’t be that good financially (to fight him a third time),” he said. “We considered fighting (McGregor) injured, I like those big events, and I was training well. We asked for a deadline to try to recover and fight injured, but I wasn’t recovering as expected. I still feel the pain. I would have fought if I could., but I couldn’t.

“I was upset with this injury. This was one of the biggest fights in the history, and we had all the promotion, everything that was needed. I’ve never been through something like this, especially for a fight that everybody wanted to see. This fight would bring a lot of money.”

Aldo expects to return to training in a couple weeks, ruling out a possible clash between McGregor and Frankie Edgar, but Nova Uniao head coach Pederneiras said they still need to get medical clearance before training.

“Aldo wants to get back to training in two weeks,” Pederneiras said. “I don’t believe Frankie Edgar will fight Conor first. Aldo will be cleared to fight before the end of the year, in November or December. That’s what I think, but I’m not a doctor. We can’t rush anything. He will come back when doctors tell him he’s cleared and there’s no risk of getting injured again.”

UFC president Dana White plans to make Aldo vs. McGregor in Las Vegas, but the 145-pound kingpin wouldn’t shy away from fighting the interim champion in Ireland.

“It would be great, I don’t see any problem with that,” Aldo said. “They can say whatever they want. If they don’t say it in Portuguese, I won’t understand a word so I don’t care. I’m anxious to fight already.”

“Get ready, I’m coming,” Aldo tells McGregor. “He can say whatever he wants, but his weapons are nowhere near what I’m showing him.”