UFC has been rattled by the Irish superstar, who should usurp the long-time Brazilian champion when the two fight in Las Vegas on Saturday
Conor McGregor v Jose Aldo is a bout that has become extremely personal.
After a lengthy media tour full of intense face-offs and several acts of provocation from McGregor, Aldo pulled out of their scheduled July contest due to a rib injury just days before the fight.
That created much scepticism from the challenger, who made due with an interim world title after dismantling Aldo’s replacement, Chad Mendes, in two rounds.
Saturday’s fight – which is subsequently a unification of the featherweight belts – is an unusual situation for Aldo, who has dominated the division for a decade.
Regarded by many as the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet, the Brazilian has been the only undisputed featherweight champion in history, having held the belt for the last four years.
This weekend will be ‘Junior’s’ eighth title defence.
McGregor, though, is his toughest competitor to date and the champion is evens to extend his undefeated streak.
So what makes McGregor so special?
From Dublin, Ireland, ‘the Notorious’ has been a revelation in this last year.
The 27-year-old’s brutal way with words and elegant style in the octagon has resulted in a meteoric rise in popularity.
The interim champion has even been confident enough to predict which round he will finish fighters – doing so correctly on most occasions.
The confidence seems well-placed and McGregor is 17/20 for the win on Saturday.
Fluidity, grace and calmness – watching McGregor in the octagon is like watching Roger Federer at Wimbledon.
His ease of movement is extremely unpredictable and allows him to create seemingly impossible angles to land his strikes.
McGregor is 4/6 to land more significant strikes, while his variety of attacks also adds to the unpredictability.
‘The Notorious’ has predicted that both fighters’ go-forward styles will result in an explosive first round and that he will finish the fight within four minutes.
McGregor is 9/2 to win in round one.
The Irishman should aim to keep this fight standing – he has huge power in his hands and his finished his last four fights via big KO punches.
The calm mindset of McGregor enables him to be precise and efficient with his punches and therefore land a high percentage of strikes.
He will be be able to mix it with Aldo punch-for-punch, whose previous two fights have gone to the scorecards.
McGregor is 5/4 to win by KO.
But Aldo has never been stopped in his career – making 5/1 for a McGregor points victory alluring.
A man who has dominated throughout his career shouldn’t be dismissed, though.
Aldo has to fight smart to win and can do so through eliminating McGregor’s greatest strengths by taking the fight to the ground.
Aldo is 8/13 to achieve most takedowns.
The 29-year-old is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and luta livre and while McGregor has good ground defence, he doesn’t have Aldo’s skills.
Aldo has only won by submission twice out of his 25 wins but, the as the method of McGregor’s two (pre-UFC) career losses, it is something he should attempt.
The Brazilian is 5/1 to win by submission.
He is also dangerous when getting up from the ground, which was so evident when he KO’d Chad Mendes with a huge knee after both fighters were making their way up to their feet.
Aldo will seldom have the opportunity to use his powerful kicks and explosive knees, so he must time them perfectly to hurt McGregor.
The champion is 7/2 to win by KO or 4/1 to win on points.
Aldo hasn’t fought for over a year, however, and inactivity could be a significant factor against the challenger, who has already fought twice this year.
But not as significant as McGregor’s unpredictability and precision.
Conor McGregor v Jose Aldo betting
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