UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and interim titleholder Conor McGregor have made it to the eve of their clash for the undisputed 145-pound title without major injury. Barring some sort of mishap at the weigh-ins on Friday night, it’s finally time for the two to throw down at UFC 194 on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
After months of back-and-forth talk, cancelled bouts and seemingly everything in between, the most anticipated fight in UFC history is upon us. As if Aldo vs. McGregor wasn’t enough, UFC 194 will feature a second world-title bout.
UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman will defend his title against Luke Rockhold. That’s the co-main event, but there are two more fights on the card that could easily be the feature bout on a Fight Night broadcast, or play second fiddle on a pay-per-view show.
Yoel “Soldier of God” Romero will face Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and Demian Maia takes on Gunnar Nelson. This time when Joe Rogan sells us on the card just before the pay-per-view portion of the show begins, there won’t be any exaggerations needed.
Fox Sports’ UFC Embedded takes a look at UFC 194 and its spectacular main event:
This is an MMA fans’ dream. Take a look at the card, viewing information and predictions.
Nelson’s Stand-Up Game Will Be Too Much for Maia
Without question, Maia and Nelson are two of the sport’s best submissions fighters. The two men have 20 wins by submission between them.
However, when it comes to striking, Nelson has improved by leaps and bounds. Based on what we saw against Brandon Thatch at UFC 189 in July, Nelson has the power to do damage to Maia during stand-up exchanges.
Nelson defeated Thatch by submission (rear-naked choke), but it was a quick one-two combination that produced a knockdown and set up Nelson’s superlative jiu-jitsu. Maia might not be as willing to pounce on Maia should he stun him because of the Brazilian’s masterful ground game—and his experience.
That said, Nelson should still prove to have the faster hands and feet. Maia’s best chance to win is going to be to take the fight to the ground, but there’s obviously no guarantee he’d get the best of Nelson there.
Getting the Icelandic warrior to the mat could prove problematic for Maia as well. Despite his great jiu-jitsu prowess, he doesn’t possess elite takedown skills. His takedown accuracy is just 31 percent, per FightMetric.com, which is not all that uncommon among strict jiu-jitsu fighters who don’t have a strong wrestling background.
In the end, Nelson’s superior athleticism should lead to a dominant striking display and a victory via unanimous decision.
Souza Will Twist Romero Like a Pretzel
Jacare vs. Romero looks like a great fight on paper, but if this fight goes to the ground—which it probably will—the Brazilian will prove to be superior.
No middleweight in the world can match Romero’s brute strength, but Souza’s no weakling. Also, on the ground, technique is even more important than power. Romero sometimes makes mental errors that lead to poor defense.
Against many opponents, his strength and athleticism enable him to escape. That won’t be the case in this bout. Souza will take advantage of Romero’s defensive lapses as he capitalizes on his opportunities to take the fight to the ground.
Once it gets there, it’ll be a surprise if the men ever get back to their feet. Bet on a limb submission of some sort leading to victory for Souza.
Rockhold Will Dethrone Weidman
Weidman has been an excellent middleweight champion, but his reign will end on Saturday. Rockhold’s ground game and height will give the champion major issues from the start.
At 6’3″ Rockhold is only an inch taller than Weidman, but he fights longer. While he’s not as powerful a striker as Weidman, Rockhold utilizes jabs and kicks to set up his takedowns. Overall, his striking is more refined, and he’s a superior athlete.
Look for him to use Weidman’s aggression against him. The champion only knows one way to fight, which is what makes his bouts so thrilling. Against Rockhold, that pursuit is going to get him caught by a shot that allows Rockhold to gain top control.
Everyone knows Weidman is a beast on the mat, but the former NCAA wrestler will be facing a man whose ground game is nothing to sneeze at. Rockhold has won three straight fights by submission, including an absolute mauling of Lyoto Machida in April.
He got early top control against Machida and battered him until he secured the rear-naked choke to earn the submission win in the second round.
The masterclass earned Rockhold his second consecutive Performance of the Night Award. He might be in position to run that record to three in a row after he takes Weidman’s title.
Out of respect to Weidman’s toughness and ground expertise, the prediction isn’t a stoppage win. But Rockhold will leave no doubt who the best middleweight in the UFC is after a dominant unanimous-decision victory in the co-main event.
That prediction doesn’t appear to be a popular one among fighters. ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto asked a number of fighters and coaches who will win, and only four of them picked Rockhold.
Aldo was on of them. Per Okamoto, the featherweight champion said:
“Both guys are great. If I was going to put my money on anyone, it would be Luke Rockhold. He’s a tall guy, southpaw. Very good.”
Yes, indeed.
Aldo Will Silence McGregor with Submission Win
Picking a winner for the main event wasn’t an easy task. McGregor’s stand-up is phenomenal. He has worn down and beaten up good-to-great fighters like Chad Mendes and Dustin Poirier.
His speed, length and strength have always seemed to be above that of normal featherweights, which is why I believe this could be his last fight at 145 pounds—win or lose. That said, Aldo has exceptional stand-up skills as well.
On pure athleticism, he may be the most impressive fighter in the sport. Only guys like Demetrious Johnson, John Dodson and Anthony Pettis are close. On top of his dynamic striking, Aldo is also an expert Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner.
Based on that skill, Aldo will defeat McGregor. Mendes had the right idea against McGregor, but he gassed out late and made a tactical error in giving up top control. That won’t happen to Aldo.
Aldo brings a different style of ground fighting into the Octagon. Mendes is ground-and-pound mat fighter, whereas Aldo is more apt to look for a submission.
He’s never submitted an opponent in the UFC, but that’s primarily because he usually holds such a significant advantage in striking. McGregor is the opponent who could force Aldo to go to Plan B.
When he does, Aldo will reaffirm why he’s one of the greatest of all time. Look for a third-round submission win for Aldo as he re-establishes himself as the undisputed featherweight champion.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com