"I own this river" - When Conor McGregor was beastly in the lead up to his featherweight title fight against Jose Aldo
A recent video of Conor McGregor ahead of his fight against Jose Aldo has surfaced online.
McGregor and Aldo were initially scheduled to fight at UFC 189. However, that fight didn't materialize as the Brazilian had to pull out with a rib injury. Both fighters participated in a world tour press conference ahead of the proposed clash. One of the media events took place in Aldo's home country of Brazil.
McGregor arrived in Brazil with his flamboyant personality. 'Notorious' claimed that he owns the city of Rio, which means 'River' in Portuguese. Here's what the Irish fighter stated:
"Rio means river, right? I own this river."
Watch the clip below (courtesy @mmagonewild Twitter):
@TheNotoriousMMAMf was a straight up supervillain leading up to the Aldo fight 😂 @TheNotoriousMMA https://t.co/DhavVedKlC
Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo eventually fought at UFC 194. The Irish fighter earned a stunning 13-second knockout to become the new undisputed featherweight champion.
Aldo was a dominant champion heading into the fight and hadn't lost in over a decade. Not only did McGregor stop his run, 'Notorious' also scored the fastest finish in a UFC title fight.
Watch McGregor vs. Aldo at UFC 194:
Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo's careers since their fight
The win against Aldo was the last act of Conor McGregor's tremendous run in the featherweight division. He fought twice against Nate Diaz next at welterweight, losing the first fight and winning the rematch. 'Notorious' then became a two-division champion in his next fight with a win against then-lightweight titleholder Eddie Alvarez.
After his boxing fight against Floyd Mayweather, McGregor made his octagon return against Khabib Nurmagomedov and succumbed to a loss. Since then, the Irish fighter has won only one of his three UFC fights.
Meanwhile, Jose Aldo has won six of his 11 fights since losing to McGregor. He currently competes in the bantamweight division of the UFC and has even challenged for the title at 135lbs.
He is currently the No.3-ranked fighter in the bantamweight division. The Brazilian is set to return to action at UFC 278 as he takes on Merab Dvalishvili.
Despite his recent rusty form, McGregor remains the biggest draw in the UFC, while Aldo is working his way back into another title shot.