Jose Aldo's team-mate Hacran Dias reportedly told Conor McGregor he would “fight him for free” while the Irishman was sitting on top of the cage celebrating his 13-second win at UFC 194.
McGregor celebrated his vicious knockout by climbing on the cage near Aldo's corner, having some fun at the expense of the Brazilian's entourage. The images of McGregor “making it rain” before raising his middle fingers quickly went viral. As you can see in this short clip, shared by a fan, one man in particular seems quite upset with Notorious (Warning: NSFW GIF):
McGregor making it rain after bagging himself a cool $500,000 after knocking Aldo out in just 13 seconds! #UFC194 pic.twitter.com/xApXl9ox3P
— GilroysWorld (@GilroysWorld) December 13, 2015
That man is Dias, a ranked UFC featherweight who wants to avenge the loss of his friend, as he told Combate (via Lucas Rezende of Bloody Elbow):
I told him to fight me, that I would fight him for free. That was not a good moment and now a lot of people are saying dumb stuff. I don't know if he saw me or if he pretended he didn't. He looked at me quickly and pointed my finger at his face, he could've played it off, but I told him to fight me. I guess we will see. This is a tough subject to discuss now, man I wish I was fighting him.
The 31-year-old sports an MMA record of 23 wins, three losses and one draw, including two losses in his last four fights, per ESPN.com. He's highly unlikely to be McGregor's next opponent, to say the least, although one has to wonder whether he would really want to get into the Octagon with the new featherweight champion to begin with.
Aldo entered their contest without a single loss on his resume in the last decade and the only man to ever hold the UFC featherweight title belt, per ESPN.com. He was widely regarded as one of the organisation's most dominant fighters, a champion with no clear weaknesses and at the top of his game.
Then this happened, per BT Sport:
If you're just waking up, the @UFC has a new Featherweight Champion! Congratulations @TheNotoriousMMA! #UFC194 https://t.co/LZHSuvAHFh
— BT Sport (@btsport) December 13, 2015
McGregor is an enigma within the featherweight division, a man who punches with the kind of power usually reserved for bigger fighters. There are indications he'll move up to the lightweight division soon, per ESPN (h/t Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting), and that hardly comes as a surprise.
He could choose to delay his move up in weight and fight Frankie Edgar, who put himself in position for a title fight with a win over Chad Mendes in the final of The Ultimate Fighter 22, or even a rematch with Aldo, who will be keen to prove the 13-second loss was nothing but a fluke.
Dias is probably the last man on McGregor's mind, although it would be some story if the Brazilian could use revenge as motivation to rise up the featherweight rankings and earn a shot at Notorious.
Per the UFC's official website, he will have his work cut out for him. At the time of writing, he is ranked 11th in the division.
