Conor McGregor’s coach reveals that he expected to lose historic rivalry fight against Jose Aldo

The rivalry of Conor McGregor with Jose Aldo was one of the greatest rivalry in the history of sport that spanned for years.

Conor McGregor has now been out of the Octagon for more than four years and has recently made a huge revelation that he has taken the sufficient steps to return to action next year.

After Donald Trump announced that the UFC will hold an event in the White House on July 4, McGregor almost immediately entered the drug test pool to return to the unique event.

And for what a monumental comeback would be, his old head coach John Kavanagh recently talked about one of McGregor's greatest ever wins against Jose Aldo.

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McGregor's coach expected a loss against Jose Aldo

At the time, 'the king of Rio' was undoubtedly the greatest featherweight of all time that he had ruled over the 145LB division for more than 10 years.

And his rivalry with 'The Notorious' started in 2015 when they were booked to fight for the title, but the Brazilian went on a message after a broken rib after a few weeks.

McGregor then fights Chad Mendes for the Interim title and hit him in the second round to earn his shot at the undisputed title.

Aldo vs McGregor was then promoted for almost a year when the two participated in a world tour, traveled to Brazil, Ireland and other places for press conferences and built the expectation for the fight.

Given how dominant Aldo had been over the years, McGregor's coach Kavanagh recently revealed that he expected to lose at UFC 194, but learned the lesson of 'mental warfare' during the structure of the fight.

“This fight was not for 13 seconds. It took 13 months. I went inside, I didn't feel like our chances. I was overwhelmed as a lifelong fan of Andre Pederneiras and of course the Pound-for-Pond (number one) Aldo. I learned here about mental warfare here,” said Kavanagh here in a recent message in X.

This fight was not 13 seconds. It was 13 meters long. I didn't go inside our chances. I was overwhelmed as a lifelong fan of Andre Pederneiras and of course the P4P Aldo. I learned here about mental warfare. https://t.co/ybo9oaUui

– Coach JK (@john_kavanagh) August 9, 2025

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Of course McGregor Aldo played in the first 13 seconds of the opening round and scored one of the craziest knockouts in the history of the promotion.

Who will make McGregor his comeback?

Although Aldo was one of the most dominant champions ever until that moment, the two never rematched when the Irishman immediately came to light after his 145 pound title win.

And with the 37-year-old set to make his comeback in 2026, fans wonder who he will fight with. It seems likely that at the moment he will fight Michael Chandler the fight that he has waited for so long, which would be a suitable fight to take place in the White House.

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