Aldo to McGregor: You go to sleep
Jose Aldo: “I have to go there, win, and remain champion. The only difference is that I always fought against Americans, and now I’m beating up an Irishman.”
UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and interim champ Conor McGregor recently took part in a media conference call ahead of their fight at UFC 194.
“Another win,” said Aldo, as transcribed by Guilherme Cruz for MMAFighting. “No reason to be different. That’s what I fight for. It doesn’t matter how it goes. I have to go there, win, and remain champion. The only difference is that I always fought against Americans, and now I’m beating up an Irishman.”
“He’s working for me, bringing me money, so why am I going to be angry at him? I love all this. He has done good things for the division. If we had another one like him, it would be great.
“He’s just another one. I’ve fought many top fighters before, and he’s just another opponent I have to go there and run through.”
“It doesn’t matter if he underestimates me or not. I focus on myself and I train for myself. When I get in there, it doesn’t matter what he or others think. I think about myself, and I know I’ll go in there to work and win.”
I will be there, for sure, one more time, winning, as usual. That’s normal for me.”
Aldo also addressed why he pulled out of the planned fight at UFC 189 with injured ribs.
“[McGregor] wouldn’t even get close to me, he wouldn’t hit me,” said Aldo. “That’s not what stopped me from fighting, but other things that would happen. The fight is not what bothered me. I will go there and win like I always did.
“It was the weight cut. I would go there and still need to cut weight. The fight itself didn’t bother me. He also had a bad knee too. Relax. Wherever I hit, brother, you go to sleep.”