The long-awaited, much-anticipated featherweight championship bout between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor finally happens on Saturday at UFC 194.
The UFC originally scheduled a matchup between Aldo and McGregor at UFC 189 in July, but Aldo suffered a rib injury in training that forced him to withdraw from the fight. McGregor kept his place on the card, knocking out Chad Mendes in the second round to win the interim featherweight title.
Because both fighters are recognized as titleholders, the UFC is promoting this as champion vs. champion. Aldo is listed as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world on the UFC’s official website, with McGregor at No. 12.
McGregor doesn’t have to validate his standing in the sport, but there may not be a fighter who takes more pleasure in proving everyone wrong. He’s going to be aware of where the UFC has him ranked compared to Aldo and use it as extra motivation for the fight.
Pre-Weigh-In Hype
McGregor enters the fight with all the hype because of his ability inside the Octagon, as well as his charisma on the microphone, but many are ignoring the vast body of work Aldo has built up over years of fighting.
It’s not like Aldo is an old fighter, either. He’s just 29 years old—22 months older than McGregor—and hasn’t lost since November 2005.
Offering a prediction to Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com, Urijah Faber outlined some of the ways Aldo will give McGregor problems:
The more well-rounded guy is Jose Aldo. We saw the way Chad Mendes was able to handle Conor on the ground. He didn’t offer much from his back and didn’t offer much takedown defense. In the stand-up realm, I think it’s very close. Conor is a seasoned, fluid striker. Aldo is explosive. I think Aldo does a better job of using all his limbs — knees, elbows and kicks. I lean toward Aldo, but if it stays standing, it’s anybody’s fight.
Aldo has been more methodical since transitioning to UFC, recording just two stoppages in seven fights, but there is knockout power in his strikes when he really digs in.
Frankie Edgar, who was on the receiving end of one of Aldo’s beatings at UFC 156, doesn’t understand why Aldo is the underdog in this bout, per MMA Noise (via MMAMania.com):
Anything can happen, McGregor has definitely been holding his own in there and doing it in pretty good fashion. But, I think Aldo is going to take it. Yeah, you just can’t talk about it if you don’t back it up because you will be forgotten about and people won’t want to hear what you’re saying. He’s been backing it up. I think he’s had some good matchups for himself and some favorable situations where Chad’s coming in on short notice, but, this is going to be the biggest test for him.
McGregor’s star is certainly on the rise, thanks in large part to four consecutive wins by TKO. He’s become one of UFC’s most marketable assets, which increases the pressure on him coming into Saturday night.
However, speaking to Steven Marrocco and John Morgan of MMAJunkie.com, McGregor is going to take a lesson from Ronda Rousey’s recent defeat to Holly Holm to manage expectations:
Holly came out of the dark – in the shadows – and that can help a person. Have you ever seen ‘Rocky 3?’ Rocky was doing ads and doing talk shows and doing this and doing that while Clubber Lang was coming up in the shadows, hungry. I felt maybe that was a reference to that fight.
There aren’t many fighters in the world who would pull out a Rocky III reference, but McGregor certainly does have a point. He’s making the media rounds and selling this fight to anyone who will listen, so trying to balance that commitment with training and mental preparation is difficult.
Sticking with Rocky III, Aldo is talking about McGregor like Clubber Lang was talking about Rocky Balboa before their first match, per Damon Martin of Fox Sports:
Every fight the biggest fight of my career, the next one is always the biggest one, so I’m looking at this one as the biggest fight in my career because it’s the next one. To me he’s just the same. I’ve fought a lot of the top fighters out there, and to me he’s really just another opponent that I have to go in there and beat.
While McGregor may not be “just another fighter,” there is a blueprint to defeat him. The Ireland native has two losses in his career, both by submission. Granted, his last loss came in 2010 and many things have changed since then.
But going back to Faber’s comments, McGregor doesn’t do well on the ground or in takedown defense. Aldo is the kind of fighter who will adapt to any kind of scenario, while McGregor wants to keep things standing to utilize his striking ability.
With very little separating Aldo and McGregor in talent, the difference comes down to the fighter who can do more. No one in mixed martial arts is better than Aldo in terms of being a chameleon. He’s coming into this title unification bout as the underdog but will walk out the undisputed featherweight champion.
Prediction: Aldo wins by third-round submission
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com