Conor McGregor has congratulated former rival Jose Aldo for being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
McGregor and Aldo were once bitter enemies in the UFC, butting heads when they embarked on a world tour before their featherweight title clash in December 2015. Aldo went on to lose his belt in just 13 seconds as McGregor put an end to his decade-long unbeaten streak, also breaking the record for the quickest finish in a UFC title fight.
The rivals never fought again and their hatred for each other eventually turned into respect as the years went on. Aldo was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this past weekend following a legendary career in the promotion and McGregor reacted to the news by tweeting: "Earned!"
McGregor labelled Aldo "a real legend" following his win against Pedro Munhoz in 2021 and said the Brazilian is "100 times the fighter" that Khabib Nurmagomedov will ever be. Aldo has also backed McGregor to make a triumphant return to the UFC following his leg break against Dustin Poirier in their trilogy fight.
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Aldo explained his relationship with McGregor by stating: "I do have a lot of respect for him, we are friends. We follow each other on Instagram and exchange dialogue there. Fans sometimes come up to me and say 'do you feel like beating McGregor' and I say 'how can I do that, he gave me the most money'. I have nothing but respect for him, we have a good friendship."
The Brazilian confirmed a rumour in which McGregor reportedly left a pair of red panties on his hotel door after Aldo reclaimed his featherweight title at UFC 200 in 2016. McGregor became synonymous with his 'red panty' catchphrase after saying it at a press conference and Aldo laughed off his rival's gesture as "light hearted fun".
"It was a bit of light hearted fun," Aldo said. "I think we were in the Red Rock which is owned by Lorenzo [Fertitta] in Las Vegas. We were window-to-window and it was the night that I beat Frankie Edgar, he just sent it out as a light hearted joke. I didn't do anything with it but maybe I could get my wife to wear it or something."
Aldo retired from MMA after losing a decision to Merab Dvalishvili last August, ending his legendary career with a record of 31-8. The 36-year-old is expected to crossover to boxing and revealed he's already signed a contract to compete in Argentina against an unnamed opponent.
