JOSE ALDO issued a heartfelt apology to Conor McGregor after exploding at his old UFC rival earlier this month.
The former long-reigning UFC featherweight champion launched a blistering attack on the Irishman after getting wind of his callout following his boxing match with Jeremey Stephens.
Aldo branded McGregor a “big mouth” who “talks a lot of s**t” – insults he’s since retracted.
The Brazilian – who has gone 1-0-1 since entering the boxing world – told MMA Fighting: “I was a little heated.
“I had just re-watched the match in the locker room and I had won, everybody said it, and right after that a reporter asked me [about McGregor’s comments], and I hadn’t seen what Conor had said.
“I called him names, laughed a lot, because of that.”
Aldo – who had his decade-long unbeaten streak ended by McGregor in December 2015 – messaged the Dubliner on social media to apologise for his uncharacteristic outburst.
He revealed: “When I got to Brazil, I messaged him apologizing because I saw it wasn’t his intention to challenge me.
“He was trying to give me a push.
“I misunderstood [his intentions]. But we’re cool again. Conor is my friend. I wish him all the best.”
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Aldo, 36, went into his clash with Stephens with a Saudi showdown with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr in the works for later this year.
But a lucrative clash with the former five-weight world champion has seemingly been put on the back burner.
He said: “Ali [Abdelaziz] had already negotiated with [Mayweather’s] staff and it was agreed with the Saudi Arabia people, the sheikh.
“But I think they’re liking what I’m showing in boxing and it’s creating a euphoria to aim at bigger things as well.
“We’re not past the idea of boxing Mayweather, it might happen, but we have other plans first.”
“I wanted to build a career in boxing like everybody does, to start against easier opponents and earn experience until you get there.
“But given the name I have, it’s hard to take the same path everybody else does.
“We’re trying to choose the right fight. Jeremy was way heavier than me now.
“I was at 157 pounds when I went to the arena on fight night and he was over 177. There was a huge difference.
“As soon as the fight ended, Ali said we won, but we had to fight on the right weight class. I’ll fight at 140.
“But since new opportunities have come around in boxing, maybe this Mayweather match will have to wait a little bit.”
Former two-division champion McGregor, 34, is set to throw down with Michael Chandler in his comeback fight later this year – although a date for the bout has yet to be finalised.
