Aldo, the first and only UFC 145-pound champion in history, is truly one of the best to ever strap on a pair of fingerless mixed martial arts gloves.
The 29-year-old veteran has not tasted defeat in more than a decade, effortlessly fending off a murderers’ row of title challengers for six years and counting.
McGregor is different, though. He’s the greatest threat to the Brazilian champion’s title by a wide margin.The interim UFC titlist is an outstanding fighter. He’s dangerously fast, has absolute dynamite in his left hand, and to date has yet to even be challenged in the Octagon.
McGregor entered the UFC as a largely untested prospect with an impressive eight-bout winning streak after lording over a weak crop of European fighters.The talented Dubliner drew American Top Team student Marcus Brimage in his UFC debut fight, finishing the up-and-comer with an uppercut that almost separated head from body.It’s been off to the races ever since. McGregor has won five more bouts, with his most recent, a main event fight against American wrestler Chad Mendes, earning him the interim UFC featherweight title.The Notorious’ McGregor was booked to face Aldo that night in June. The UFC poured millions of dollars into promoting the clash, only to see it go up in flames after a rib injury to Aldo cancelled the match-up.Barring either fighter getting hurt late or a ridiculous weight-cutting debacle, Aldo and McGregor are finally set to meet on Sunday.The featherweight clash is one of the best main events the company has ever produced in their 22-year history – a classic high-stakes title fight with gold, glory and bragging rights on the line.McGregor, on paper at least, seems like Aldo vs Mcgregor Live the perfect foil for Aldo. He’s got an unblemished chin, an unorthodox style, great lateral movement and the ability to land one-punch knockouts.The former two-division Cage Warriors champion relies on pressure, pace and power. He has a textbook jab and a flashy variety of kicks, but his game largely revolves around his straight left punch down the middle. He throws it early and often, usually with disastrous effects.McGregor has a very good chance of connecting with one of those powerhouse lefts and becoming the second ever UFC featherweight champion, but picking fights all come down to percentages, odds and the most likely outcome.There’s a pretty high chance of McGregor getting that aforementioned knockout, but I think Aldo slowly chopping the lanky fighter down to size is the most likely outcome.One of the strongest reasons I’m siding with Aldo on Sunday is his ability to not only stay calm under pressure but to thrive in that environment. Aldo has tested his mettle under fire more than once and is yet to stumble in the UFC’s cage, racking up a perfect 7-0 record against former champions and all-time great featherweights.In his last fight, a five-round classic against ‘Money’ Mendes, the Brazilian Muay Thai artist faced a powerhouse wrestler with thudding knockout power.Mendes was a serious challenge for Aldo, but the champ looked better than ever, showing a more diverse striking arsenal and improved cardiovascular fitness.Aldo is essentially an old-style kickboxer with excellent takedown defence. He strings together punch-kick combos in fluid sequences which set up his power shots.The champ’s kicking game is a major threat to McGregor, too. The Irishman has prided himself on his ability to walk through fire. Like he’s bulletproof, McGregor chooses to march through his opponents punches, sometimes eating two or three blows to land a power strike of his own.
That’s a terrible idea against Aldo. That gameplan will fast turn him into a punching bag with a funny accent.Another thing Aldo has in his back pocket is a surprisingly good grappling game. The pound-for-pound king is good at landing trip takedowns, and on the mat has Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt-level submission chops.McGregor, on the other hand, doesn’t. His ground game is sorely lacking. We saw in his bout against Mendes earlier this year, the talented striker was powered to the floor and absolutely dominated.All these small advantages add up to a big enough one for me to pick Aldo in an incredibly competitive back-and-forth thriller.After more than a year’s worth of anticipation, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo (25-1-0) and No. 1 contender Conor McGregor (18-2-0) will finally step into the octagon with one another. The Brazilian champion and Irish interim title holder will meet at UFC 194 on Dec. 12 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, as they headline the UFC’s year-end pay-per-view event.These two were originally slated to meet at UFC 189 in July but a rib injury forced Aldo to drop out of the bout a few weeks prior. McGregor instead fought Chad Mendes and won the interim championship with a second-round TKO. McGregor, who did his share of trash talking on an eight-city world press tour leading up to the original fight date, took Aldo’s injury as a sign of fear and still claims he doesn’t think Aldo will even show up in Las Vega"I still don't think he will show," McGregor told GQ magazine. "I am trying to be optimistic but I am never wrong, I always predict the outcome of my fights and I am never wrong."Even if Aldo does come to fight at UFC 194, McGregor says the fight has already been won."I have beaten him already," said the Dublin native. "He is dead. Look at his body language. His body is weak and his mind is weaker. I can smell the lack of confidence … He cannot beat me. He knows it. It's why he went running last time."Among his few responses to McGregor’s antics, Aldo expressed confidence about his chances. "My focus is to win ... I’m sure he will leave the fight injured and I will leave with the win,” Aldo told Brazilian multimedia outlet Globo in October. Aldo hasn’t lost a fight in 10 years and has been an MMA featherweight champion since 2009.Aldo is considered one of the greatest Brazilian fighters of all-time and is the only champion in the history of UFC’s featherweight division, defending his belt seven consecutive times. Aldo’s fighting base is Brazilian jiu-jitsu but he’s known mainly for his aggressive striking. In addition to a willingness to throw punches, Aldo possesses a strong ground game and the ability to submit high-level grapplers. His agile footwork allows him to move around the octagon with ease and he’s got a variety of kicks and knees that he frequently employs.
In addition to offensive skills, the current No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter is an excellent defender, avoiding 91 percent of total takedowns attempted against him. Aldo began fighting in the WEC in 2008 before its unification with UFC in 2010. Of his 25 victories, 14 have come via knockout but has won three of his last four fights by decision.Since his UFC arrival two years ago, McGregor has been one of the sport’s biggest draws and arguably its biggest lightning rod for controversy. His confidence and brashness have made him "must-see TV" for many MMA fans whether they want to see him win or lose. “The Notorious” seems to have developed a fighting style all his own, blending elements from more than one place or style. His approach has been described as "off-beat" and "unusual" and opponents often poorly adjust to his techniqueAn unorthodox fighter with a wide array of skills, McGregor is particularly effective with his feet as a striker. He’s got powerful punching skills and uses his hands like a boxer coupled with muay Thai abilities. Although McGregor is adept at fighting on the ground, he prefers to stand up and dictate the fight from his feet. McGregor also has seems to have higher threshold for pain than most fighters, and little problem dishing out punishment. Five of McGregor’s six victories have been TKOs via punches. Of his 18 victories, 16 have come by knockout.
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