Jose Aldo gives his prediction for Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2, shuts down any hope for McGregor rematch

Jose Aldo has weighed in on the UFC 329 main event between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway, offering his assessment of two fighters he knows intimately from his own career. The retired featherweight champion faced McGregor once in 2015, losing by knockout in just 13 seconds, but competed twice against Holloway—losing their first fight by TKO in the fourth round before their rematch went nearly 30 minutes.

Speaking to Covers.com ahead of the McGregor-Holloway rematch, Aldo acknowledged the difficulty in evaluating McGregor's current form given the five-year absence from competition and his imminent 38th birthday. "Nobody really knows where he's at or what kind of performance he's going to deliver," Aldo said. "He could perform like a 10 out of 10, or like a five." By contrast, Aldo expressed confidence in his ability to read Holloway's skill set, describing him as an intelligent striker with excellent boxing fundamentals and a remarkable ability to absorb damage, though he noted Holloway is not the same fighter he faced in his prime.

Ultimately, Aldo favors Holloway to emerge victorious, citing the Hawaiian's active competition schedule and maintained sharpness against McGregor's prolonged layoff. "To me, Max is the favorite," Aldo stated. "He's active and still building his career." He cautioned, however, that McGregor's knockout power and timing remain genuine threats. "Conor could walk in there and knock him out. That can absolutely happen."

Regarding speculation about a potential rematch with McGregor, Aldo definitively closed the door. Having retired after his final UFC fight in 2025, he stressed that the massive size and lifestyle differences between them now make such a showdown impractical. At 72 kilograms (158 pounds), Aldo is significantly smaller than McGregor, and his year-long absence from the gym reinforces his commitment to retirement. "I'm completely different," he concluded. "There are too many factors that make that fight unrealistic now."