Conor McGregor had just two words to say after watching his old rival Jose Aldo come up short in a razor-thin decision at UFC 307: “Robbed again”. Aldo, returning from a brief retirement and looking to extend his win streak, battled it out with Mario Bautista in a closely contested bout.
But when the scorecards were read, it was Bautista who walked away with the split-decision win, leaving both McGregor and Joe Rogan visibly frustrated with what they saw as questionable judging. The fight sparked plenty of debate, but McGregor’s disappointment was loud and clear.
The crux of the issue here is that both Rogan and McGregor felt that Bautista did not do enough to get the win. Chiefly, they felt that he shot for takedowns just to keep Aldo pinned against the cage.
Other than that, he did not do anything worthwhile with the takedowns attempted. However, in the striking department, on paper at least, Bautista was more accurate and active of the two fighters.
He landed 90 total strikes compared to 65 for Aldo. These factors combined led the judges to believe that he had done enough to secure the win. McGregor put out two tweets on the matter. First, he expressed his disappointment saying,
Dirt decision.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 6, 2024
McGregor also shared a more in-depth tweet explaining why he felt his former rival was robbed off a win.
Rogan said the judges weren’t even looking. That was Jose’s story. Bullshit decision. He has just said he was shooting in just to hold him against the fence. That’s not good enough. Referees need to step in here. This sport is the fans sport. Remember this and act accordingly…
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 6, 2024
Needless to say, this severely impacts Jose Aldo’s ability to fight for a title anytime soon.
Aldo to re-think his return to the sport after UFC 307?
It is a common occurrence especially amongst UFC fighters to step away from the sport and return a few years later. However, this has seldom worked out well for anyone who has tried it. There is an understanding that each athlete has only one peak in their lives.
Therefore, when most athletes step away and come back, they’re not the former version of themselves.
Aldo is the perfect example. Although he is by no means an easy fight for anyone, he is not the same Jose Aldo that dominated the 145-pound division.
And now with age catching up, maybe this loss will force the ‘King of Rio’ to re-think his return, especially since this loss already puts him out of title contention, at least for now. And at 40 years of age, having achieved everything the sport had to offer, Aldo doesn’t even really need to do this ever again.
