Aldo defends McGregor: Bellator 187 incident was 'normal'
Jose Aldo didn't use Conor McGregor's latest controversial actions to pile on top of the man who took his featherweight title in 2015.
McGregor jumped into the cage at Bellator 187 to celebrate what he thought was teammate Charlie Ward's win over John Redmond, though referee Marc Goddard had yet to call a stop to the fight. McGregor and Goddard then got into a heated disagreement, for which the Irish fighter has since apologized.
Related: Referee explains his version of events from McGregor run-in
Aldo defended McGregor's actions, saying "The Notorious" is an emotional fighter who's very close with his teammates, particularly the Irish ones.
"I haven’t seen the video, but I heard about it," Aldo told MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz at media day in Brazil on Monday. "I think it's normal. He's an emotional guy, and when an Irishman is fighting the Irish people embrace them a lot. I don't condemn him.
"He didn't do that for attention, he’s done that before. When we did 'The Ultimate Fighter,' an athlete from his team won and he went up there and in there, he even tore his pants. He's really emotional, and I don't condemn him for what he's done."
Aldo admitted he's invaded the Octagon "many times" when a friend has fought, despite referees telling him not to. He believes McGregor has unfairly been painted as the villain in this situation.
"I think it's the heat of the moment, but there are bigger things than just the rules."
McGregor has yet to be disciplined for his actions.