Five Rumors Why Jose Aldo Lost To Conor McGregor At UFC 194

In the days since Conor McGregor knocked out longtime former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo in a shocking 13 seconds at last week’s (Sat., December 12, 2015) UFC 194 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, there’s not surprisingly been a variety of rumors and speculation as to why the onetime pound-for-pound king got destroyed.

Some are intriguing questions that beg to be investigated more, some are controversial speculations that have lead to quite the media windfall, and others are simpler at their roots.

Regardless of which rumor or reason why you think Aldo lost to McGregor in such devastating fashion, the fact is that we’ve witnessed a new and historic direction for the all-of-the-sudden surging UFC featherweight division.

Why do you think Aldo lost to the ‘Notorious’? Let’s examine some of the rumors why here.

5.) Nerves:

Many who watched the fight thought that Aldo looked to be under an extreme amount of pressure when he refused to look at McGregor in the pre-fight staredowns. Octagon announcer Joe Rogan remarked that Aldo looked ‘nervous as f***’ before the fight, among other suggestions that will be mentioned in later rumors.

For now, it’s safe to assume that the pressure of a year of hype, a 10-city World Championship Tour, and the weight of being the undefeated UFC featherweight champion, as well as the pound-for-pound king got to ‘Junior.’

It’s understandable that it would, and it may have played a large part in why he rushed in without much caution and got by McGregor in record-breaking time.

4.) Alleged PED Use:

Perhaps a bit more nefariously, Rogan also said that Aldo looked ‘soft’ when a recording of his pre-fight mic work went viral. Rogan and Brendan Schaub then remarked that Aldo and his whole team were not fighting all that well since the UFC’s new drug testing went into effect.

While Aldo’s head coach Andre Pederneiras fired back at Rogan and received a promptly created apology, there’s no doubt that the announcer’s word inspired doubt and speculation in MMA fans considering Aldo was an unstoppable destroyer who was seemingly unbeatable for 10 years.

Aldo has certainly not failed a test or been busted for any sort of performance-enhancing drugs, yet he has been involved in some interesting drug test controversy as of late. Still, the former champ can’t be accused until he’s caught.

The rumors do persist, however.

3.) The Trash Talk Got To Him:

There’s also the suggestion that the long, drawn-out battle of trash talk between the normally quiet Aldo and ‘The Notorious’ got to the former champion, and that could certainly be the case.

The brash and creative Irishman was in his face with his unique, nonstop banter, and perhaps Aldo didn’t know what to do with an explosively outspoken challenger who could also back it up like McGregor did.

Aldo doesn’t speak English fluently and was put at an almost immediate disadvantage when he was faced with being the main antagonist at many of the overblown media spots.

No matter that Aldo had been champion for years, he had never been through anything like this as the enemy; perhaps no other fighter ever had or has.

He can’t be blamed for letting some of the massive pressure get to him; it would almost be impossible not to. Exactly how much it actually did will never be known, yet there’s no doubt that the vicious pace of McGregor’s quick-witted barbs had to get to Aldo at least a bit.

2.) He Was Fading Already:

It could also be argued that Aldo was already fading from his lofty perch as one of the UFC’s all-time legends long before he ever faced McGregor; and perhaps his recent track record would support that theory, at least to a small degree.

He did defend his title seven times, but Aldo only had two UFC finishes, the first his highlight reel knockout of Chad Mendes at UFC 42, and an injury stoppage win over Chan Sung Jung when ‘The Korean Zombie’ dislocated his shoulder in the main event of UFC 163.

He won seven of his eight outs in World Extreme Cagefighting by striking stoppage by comparison, and his only decision win was a brutalizing performance against Urijah Faber where ‘The California Kid’s’ leg was famously bruised and battered from Aldo’s leg kicks.

Yet on the other hand, he’s been criticized for coasting in his recent unanimous decision wins by UFC President Dana White and others, so while he’s no doubt been dominant as a striker on another level than all of his competition besides McGregor, he just hasn’t been the killer he was in WEC.

Aldo has even gone so far as to admit he fights safer to hold onto the belt, but he didn’t do that against McGregor. Unfortunately that may be a sign that his time as champ is officially done.

If it has, it’s been a good ride.

1.) McGregor Was Just His Toughest Challenge:

At the core of the matter, the rumor (or perhaps it’s just a fact) that Aldo simply finally met his match in the much larger McGregor might be the main reason that he lost the belt to him so quickly, and it would be the only reason needed.

Thanks in part to his brash trash talk, McGregor was regarded as a clown for his antics and a paper champion with many flaws in his game after he was taken down and controlled by Mendes at UFC 189 prior to getting up and finishing ‘Money’ with a huge combination of strikes at the end of the second round.

While it’s clear that McGregor does have areas he needs to improve upon in grappling, it’s also far past time to give McGregor his due as the best 145-pound fighter in the world right now. His knockout power is without an equal, and he’s called his shots as he stopped every opponent put before him.

As legendary of a champion as Jose Aldo was and is, there was always going to be someone who was going to come along and knock him off of his mountain. Now, it was hard to imagine it would be in 13 seconds, and that’s why McGregor was simply his kryptonite.

A rematch would most likely be different no matter who won, but at this point McGregor is obviously the favorite to win. So all rumors aside, Aldo’s devastating loss could just mean he finally met someone better than him.

Too bad for him it had to come in the form of his most hated rival, but that rivalry might not be over just yet.