Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh has revealed he is still 'obsessed' with Jose Aldo which stems from his days competing in the now-defunct World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC).

Which meant a part of him was left secretly wanting more when Aldo lost his featherweight belt to McGregor after being knocked out in just 13 seconds almost six years and two weeks ago to the day. 

Notorious won the fight via first-round knockout in the main event of UFC 194 in December 2015. 

And after the victory, the 33-year-old went on to become the sport's biggest star, amassing a personal fortune of $415million along the way as well.  

But that doesn't mean that Kavanagh doesn't have some regrets about how the fight ended up playing out as he admitted he would have loved to have seen 'some more exchanges' between two of the most dynamic strikers on the roster before it ended in spectacular fashion. 

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He told MMA Fighting: “I’m sure I spoke about it a lot at the time, but going back, I was a massive WEC fan.

“And if you’re a WEC fan, you’re obsessed with Aldo. Just the way he — he was the first one that I really saw, a striking-based MMA guy that just dismantled grapplers.

"So I was trying to learn a lot from what he did. And even going back further than that, his amazing coach ‘Dede’ [Andre Pederneiras], I watched him back in the Pride days."

Kavanagh added: “So there was nobody that was a bigger fan of that team and Aldo specifically than me.

Conor McGregor knocked out Jose Aldo in December 2015 to win the UFC featherweight title

"And in the lead up to that [UFC 194] fight, I had many sleepless nights looking at those leg kicks and his takedown defense and his speed and his technique and his experience.

"And I somewhat regretted how the fight went, because I would have loved to see the clash of styles and some more exchanges.”

Meanwhile Aldo, who is currently the UFC's No.3-ranked bantamweight in the world, has found a new home for himself in the 135lbs division after many years of competing up a weight class at 145lbs.

The 35-year-old Brazilian comfortably outclassed Rob Font earlier this month in a fight where he has underlined his credentials as a bona fide contender, and Kavanagh admits he can't help but be impressed by his remarkable career resurgence. 

“Look what Aldo’s done,” he enthused.

“He’s come back completely reinvigorated at 135 and he’s looking world-class. He’s looking like a champion beater.

"And if he gets that Dillashaw fight, I think we’ll really see just how far he’s come since then.

“I’m sure Conor would love to see it, and certainly I would love to see him have his hand raised and have that belt at 135.”

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