Jose Aldo thinks Conor McGregor will take the Mayweather money and run from fighting

Much of the sentiment boosting Conor McGregor’s chances for being able to pull a stunning upset over Floyd Mayweather Jnr is rooted in the fact that McGregor ended former UFC champion Jose Aldo’s 10-year unbeaten run with a knockout in 13 seconds.

Aldo not only isn’t buying the theory, he also thinks it’s conceivable that McGregor will pocket the riches he’s fought and talked his way into and leave combat sports for good.

“There is no comparison. It is not similar. Totally different,” Aldo said when asked if a repeat of McGregor’s December 2015 featherweight-title victory can be repeated against Mayweather (49-0) August 26.

“There is no way McGregor can defeat Mayweather. Mayweather has done this his entire life and it’s a different sport.”

McGregor sought on a four-stop international press tour to mentally infiltrate Mayweather, 40, who has returned from a two-year retirement for the bout that could potentially become the richest event in combat sports history.

During a similar extended buildup to McGregor’s showdown with Aldo that saw McGregor post an impressive knockout of Chad Mendes for the UFC’s interim featherweight title bout as Aldo recovered from an injury, the fast-witted McGregor went after Aldo at each face-to-face meeting, from stealing his belt to accurately predicting the first-round knockout.