Conor McGregor is thrilled that his former opponent Jose Aldo is returning to the UFC.

Aldo received his release from the promotion following his decision loss to Merab Dvalisvhili as he wanted to pursue boxing. He ended up having two boxing matches, going 1-0-1 and he will now return to the Octagon at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to face Jonathan Martinez.

The news caught many by surprise, but Conor McGregor says he was surprised that Jose Aldo even left the UFC as he thought the Brazilian was near a title shot at 135lbs.

“Look at Aldo now, great to see Jose back, really happy to see Jose back. I was actually taken back that he did retire when he retired. He was in contention for the f*****g title, he was in title contention from where I was looking. I’m happy to see Jose back and I wonder if it was a business play that didn’t play out for him, was he trying to press for more and then walked away and they let him? He went and did his boxing matches and all the rest of it. Now, he’s back and I’m excited to see him back, always great for the company, let’s go,” McGregor said on The MMA Hour.

As Conor McGregor says, Jose Aldo was still a top-ranked bantamweight before his exit from the promotion. In his return, he’s facing the 14th-ranked bantamweight in Jonathan Martinez, so if he beats the American, Aldo would likely get a top-10 opponent next and be close to a title shot at 135lbs.

As for Conor McGregor, he recently revealed his fight against Michael Chandler is on for this summer, and claims it will be announced by the UFC very soon. The Irishman has not fought since July of 2021 when he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier.