Conor McGregor on Jose Aldo's tweet: 'That's the sign of a loser'

In the end, Conor McGregor's cameo at welterweight didn't go as he'd hoped. He lost in his UFC 196 main event against Nate Diaz via rear-naked choke on Saturday night, to the surprise of many.

Yet even though he was graceful in defeat, McGregor took umbrage at some of the people celebrating his loss. Particularly people who had the opportunity to step up and face him on 11 day's notice, yet opted not to.

One of those who decided not to take the fight on that short of notice was former featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, who sent out a tweet after McGregor's loss.

"See ya at #UFC200, @TheNotoriousMMA. Your fairy tale is over. You got nowhere to run now. Time to a rematch, puss"

Asked if he'd seen the tweet at the post-fight press conference -- and if that's who he meant he condemned those who celebrate "another man's" win -- McGregor lit into Aldo.

"I just think that...he had an opportunity to show up here," McGregor said. "And he didn't. He could be sitting there across, he could be sitting where Nate's sitting now. He was the first choice. He said anytime, any place, anywhere. And then it wasn't anytime, any place, anywhere. Now another man gets a victory over me and he celebrates it. That's the sign of a loser. That's the sign of a runner-up, that's not the sign of a champion, so."

For the 27-year old McGregor, who defeated Aldo in just 13 seconds via KO at UFC 194 in December, he still retains his 145-pound title, and he said he expects that he'll be defending it next.

As for how he felt at 170 pounds, where he lost for the first time in eight UFC fights, McGregor (19-3) said the size was different. But so was Diaz's ability to take a punch.

"It was simply me fighting a heavier man and that's it," he said. "He could take a hell of a shot. And he's...him and Nick have that kind of style. They can take it and remain in there, and remain in your face. In the second round I was hitting glove. His range, he was coming close and I was hitting glove. And that was kind of draining me. He was just simply more efficient with his energy. He stayed in my face, and capitalized on it.

"I make no excuses. This is...it is what it is. I came up short. I took a chance, it didn't pay off, I'll be back."