Conor McGregor brands Khabib Nurmagomedov a “fool” over Jose Aldo comments

McGregor has criticised his bitter rival Nurmagomedov after the Russian claimed Aldo was beyond the prime of his career despite his sensational victory over Rob Font this weekend

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UFC: McGregor comments ‘mean a lot to me’ says Aldo

Conor McGregor has hit out at his bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov after he claimed UFC star Jose Aldo was beyond his “prime”.

The Brazilian star recorded another significant victory over Rob Font at the weekend as he eyes a return to the pinnacle of the promotion in his new bantamweight class.

Aldo now has 31 professional victories in MMA but was defeated by McGregor back in 2015 where he was dismantled in just 13 seconds.

Despite his recent success, Nurmagomedov questioned Aldo’s current performance levels when he said: “How is he showing it? He got beat up when he fought Petr Yan, right?

“A guy wins one fight and everyone starts talking. When Conor (McGregor) fought (Donald) ‘Cowboy’ (Cerrone), he looked like a lion. When he fights stronger opponents, he looks like a scared chicken.

“Fighting top fighters shows your worth. The level of Russia’s football team will be shown against Croatia, not Malta.”

And following Aldo’s latest win, McGregor said: “He should have just kept quiet about Aldo, he is a fool now.”

The Brazilian star’s recovery from his defeat byMcGregor began with a rematch victory over Frankie Edgar the following year.

But he then suffered two stoppage defeats by Max Holloway which dented his career progress before bouncing back with two wins.

A sour patch followed for Aldo who was beaten by current featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski before switching to 135lbs where he suffered back-to-back defeats by Marlon Moraes and Petr Yan.

However the future now looks much brighter for the 35-year-old who has strung together three consecutive victories which could see him move up to fourth position in the UFC’s bantamweight rankings.

McGregor has seen a noticeable decline in his own career since being defeated by bitter rival Nurmagomedov in 2018.

After a spell out of the cage he returned with an emphatic victory over Donald Cerrone last year before being conquered twice by leading lightweight contender Dustin Poirier.

Do you believe Jose Aldo is ‘past his prime’? Let us know in the comments section below

Similarly to Aldo, he will be looking for his own revival in the rankings after sliding down to ninth position following his UFC 264 blemish.

He has been called out by the likes of Holloway, lightweight contender Michael Chandler and Rafael Dos Anjos upon his return to the octagon.

Despite his insistence on returning to 155lbs and earning an immediate title shot, McGregor’s new ripped physique could suggest a number of options being available at his disposal.

McGregor has previously spoken of his desire to force a trilogy bout with Nate Diaz at welterweight, but it appears increasingly unlikely with the American having just one fight remaining on his current deal.

The 33-year-old is no rush to make his full return however and his coach John Kavanagh expects him to return in spring next year.