CONOR MCGREGOR once trolled a former UFC opponent by putting a pair of red panties on their hotel room door.
The MMA superstar introduced fight fans to the term “red panty night” at the UFC Go Big press conference nearly eight years ago.
GettyConor McGregor introduced MMA fans to the term ‘red panty night’ in 2015[/caption]
GETTYMcGregor coined the term in the build-up to his featherweight unification fight with Jose Aldo[/caption]
GETTYSeven months later, The Notorious put a pair of red ladies’ underwear on Aldo’s hotel room door[/caption]
McGregor, who at the time was interim featherweight champion, used the phrase to describe the paydays his rivals would get if they bagged a big-money fight with him.
The Notorious, at the time, was getting ready to take on future Hall of Famer Jose Aldo in a 145lb title unification bout – which he’d win in double quick time.
And seven months after his emphatic dethroning of the Brazilian, he taunted him by putting a red pair of ladies’ underwear on his Las Vegas hotel room door.
Aldo confirmed the rumour shortly after it was announced he’d be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, saying: “It was just good-hearted, lighthearted fun.
“We were in Red Rock owned by Lorenzo [Fertitta] in Vegas and we were window to window and there was a night I beat Frankie Edgar.
“So he just sent it out as a lighthearted joke.”
Aldo – who retired from MMA last September – couldn’t help but see the funny side of the prank, adding: “I didn’t do anything with it.
“But maybe. I could even get my missus to wear it or something.”
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Aldo looks back fondly on his once-fierce rivalry with McGregor, which built to a stunning crescendo at UFC 194 in December 2015.
But he has no ill will towards the Irishman or the UFC brass for not granting him a rematch.
When asked about not rematching Mystic Mac, he said: “Maybe back in the day it would have been an awesome event, but not today.
“People, everywhere I go now — I do have a lot of respect for him. We’re friends.
“We even follow each other on Instagram, we exchange dialogue there, and sometimes fans come up to me and say, ‘Do you feel like beating McGregor or something?’
“I say, ‘How can I do that?
“‘That’s the guy who gave me the most money.’
“I have nothing but respect and kind of a friendship now, [I wouldn’t think of a rematch] these days.”
McGregor, 34, hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in July 2021.
But the Dubliner is seemingly on course for a summer return after extensive rehab and a dramatic body transformation.