Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor will clash in the main event at UFC 194 Saturday night, and the stakes couldn’t be much higher, as the UFC Featherweight title will be on the line.
Aldo and McGregor are as evenly matched as any two fighters in recent memory, as they are on a combined 32-fight winning streak. Despite their recent dominance, something has to give when they lock horns in Las Vegas.
Ahead of the highly anticipated champion versus interim champion clash, here is a closer look at the matchup, along with predictions for who will reign supreme at the end of the night.
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas
When: Saturday, Dec. 12 at 10 p.m. ET (main card start time)
Watch: Pay-per-view
Current Odds
Tale of the Tape (courtesy of ESPN on Twitter)
Aldo vs. McGregor Predictions
Neither Aldo nor McGregor have separated themselves significantly in the eyes of the oddsmakers, which is what makes the prospect of their fight so exciting.
Both combatants have been dominant over the course of their respective careers with only three losses between them, and neither has suffered a defeat in UFC.
Aldo is the only official featherweight champion UFC has ever had, which is one of the biggest mental hurdles McGregor must clear.
Despite that, the Irishman believes he has the edge in that department, and can’t envision a scenario in which his Brazilian opponent beats him, according to UFC Europe:
In fact, McGregor doesn’t think Aldo has any real interest in facing him, per Damon Martin of FoxSports.com:
I feel he feels like he’s handcuffed and forced into this. He doesn’t want to be here. I feel the man is forced to do this. That’s what I feel. I feel he’s confused, he doesn’t know where he is, he doesn’t know what’s going on, he just can’t wait for it to be over. That’s what I’ve seen when I looked at him yesterday.
Even so, Aldo seemed quite charged up during his stare-down with McGregor at weigh-in, as he taunted the man who usually portrays himself as the aggressor, as seen in this video courtesy of UFC:
In addition to his aggressiveness during the pre-fight festivities, Aldo made it clear that he intends to put the pressure on McGregor during the bout itself.
According to Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, Aldo doesn’t have any plans to shy away despite McGregor‘s immense striking power:
“That’s my style,” Aldo said. “There’s no reason to change it. I’m going to be moving forward like I’ve always done.”
Aldo’s style has been very kind to him over the years, but it may turn out to be a disadvantage against a fighter of McGregor‘s caliber.
Of McGregor‘s 18 career victories, 16 have come by way of knockout. Aldo is more apt to go the distance, but that may not be possible if he presses the issue too much.
It seems as though Aldo wants to impose his will on the boisterous McGregor, but that strategy will likely play right into the challenger’s hands.
Based on that, look for McGregor to stop Aldo with a third-round knockout and become just the second featherweight champion in UFC history in the process.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com