We finally have a date: December 12, 2015. That’s the day when UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor will finally step in the Octagon (knock on wood, etc.) and do the thing we’ve been waiting months to see them do.
The hype train for Aldo vs. McGregor was deafening the first time around. The second time, after McGregor went in and beat Chad Mendes? The second time might be even bigger.
To discuss this, Jonathan Snowden and Jeremy Botter—Bleacher Report’s Bizarro World variation of Aldo and McGregor—meet up to ask and answer a simple question: Is Aldo vs. McGregor the most anticipated fight in UFC history?
Jeremy Botter: On the surface, this seems a fairly straightforward question. Yes, this is the most anticipated fight in UFC history. If you had to create a list of the most anticipated fights the promotion has ever run, the first scheduled go-round back in July would have been at or near the top of the list.
So it goes without saying that the second booking—after McGregor, in beating and finishing Mendes, did what many believed he could not do—will be even bigger come December 12. The UFC, being the gambler it is, rolled the dice, believing its “business partner” could hold up his end of the bargain by beating Mendes.
And then he did. And now the Fertitta brothers, Dana White, McGregor and even Aldo are going to sleep each night with grand visions of enchanted bank accounts dancing in their heads.
This is the biggest fight in UFC history, if it happens.
Jonathan Snowden: There are two ways to consider this. From a purely financial sense, this probably won’t end up being the biggest fight in UFC history. The UFC did big business for its last two shows, but the two of them combined barely top the granddaddy of them all, UFC 100.
But when it comes to the hardcore fans who keep this sport alive between mega-events, this is right up there with the most anticipated fights ever. The only thing that came close was the simmering feud between Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell. That one was an intense back-and-forth with the added benefit of both men speaking the same language and having real, rather than manufactured, feelings toward each other.
The sport, however, has grown by leaps and bounds since the early days of the Fertitta reign. More people are watching McGregor and Aldo do their thing. And let’s face it—McGregor is a more dynamic presence than either The Iceman or The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.
This fight is big. No one doubts that. But does it deserve to be? That’s a different, but related, question. I think it does. It’s everything I could have hoped for. Frankly, Aldo and McGregor have exceeded my expectations. What about you, Jeremy?
Botter: Yeah, it deserves to be this big. Maybe not the first time around, when plenty felt McGregor was being inserted into a position he didn’t deserve simply because he became besties with the Fertittas and White.
But now? It’s a different story. McGregor is absolutely deserving of the position he’s in. He has proved that he can make the leap from television to pulling great numbers (for 2015, anyway) on pay-per-view. UFC 189 did an estimated 825,000 buys, per MMAPayout.com. And he beat Mendes, which shows he can compete with the best his division has to offer. There is simply no way to logically discount what he has accomplished.
And make no mistake about it: All of this is due to McGregor. If Aldo had his way, there would be zero interviews and zero promotion, even dating back to the first World Tour. Aldo was a participant in the tour, but McGregor was both the engine driving everybody forward and the captain steering things the way they needed to go.
If this fight even comes close to approaching that UFC 100 number—and personally, I think it’s going to come closer than any fight the UFC has done since that date—well, it’s all on McGregor.
Snowden: When the fight was first announced the participants were the greatest featherweight of all time and a mouthy Irishman no one was quite sure could compete at a top level. And, despite the real questions about McGregor’s ability to walk the walk, it was still a big deal.
That’s the power of his indomitable personality.
Now we’ve all seen McGregor beat the second-best fighter in the weight class in devastating fashion. We’ve seen him emerge from adversity stronger and more intent on putting the hurt on his opponent than ever. We’ve watched him take it on the chin from a man with battle-tested knockout power and never flinch.
And we’ve seen him do all of that with a bum knee that he didn’t talk much about but that sources say was definitely slowing him down.
None of that means he’s going to beat Aldo. The champ is the only man to ever wear the featherweight strap because he’s made a career of taking fighters with incredible skill sets and making them look ordinary. He’ll give McGregor more things to worry about than Mendes managed, both standing and on the ground.
But I have a feeling, Jeremy—this is McGregor’s moment. There will be a second UFC featherweight champion by the end of the year. And that champion will do his celebrating in Dublin.
Botter: It’s good to see you finally coming around on McGregor. There was a little while when I thought we’d have to drag you into the McGregor Era kicking and screaming, but you did that all on your own. I’m proud of you.
I agree with you: We’ll have a new featherweight champion by the end of the year. Aldo is an incredible fighter. He is one of the best in MMA history. But he has a lot of miles on that body, and there’s just something special about McGregor’s rise to fame.
If it feels a little bit like destiny, well, perhaps that’s exactly what it is. I don’t know if you believe in such things, Jonathan.
But you can’t deny there’s some kind of special something in the air around this guy.
Jeremy Botter and Jonathan Snowden cover mixed martial arts for Bleacher Report.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com