UFC 194 Analysis: Conor McGregor, everyone else underestimating Jose Aldo

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015 | 2 a.m.

Conor McGregor committed a cardinal sin of combat sports throughout his fight with Chad Mendes five months ago.

Although McGregor eventually knocked out Mendes with three seconds to go in the second round to win the interim featherweight title at UFC 189, he purposely failed to protect himself before the finish. The Irish superstar dropped his hands, dared Mendes to swing and derided him for his attempts.

It was a risky strategy that McGregor said he wouldn’t hesitate to employ again on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena against the world’s top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, Jose Aldo, in their title unification bout at UFC 194.

“When my feet hit the canvas, it’s true freedom,” McGregor said at Wednesday’s pre-fight news conference. “There’s no one who can tell me what to do or how to do it, so I will enter and be free.”

That’s far from a guarantee, but the possibility of McGregor (18-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) taunting Aldo (25-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in the cage is too fitting. It would be the ultimate sign of disrespect in a year where insolence has constantly accompanied the Brazilian champion.

The first part of 2015 featured McGregor discrediting Aldo’s accomplishments on what felt like an endless loop. The middle brought a more widespread bashing of people questioning Aldo for pulling out of the UFC 189 matchup with McGregor because of a rib injury.

And the end arrives with Aldo parked as an underdog to McGregor in sports books despite having not lost a bout in a decade.

“I don’t even really know who’s making those odds,” Aldo said through a translator. “But if you want to make some easy money, you bet Jose Aldo.”

Silence followed Aldo’s words at the open-to-the-public news conference. But whenever McGregor spoke, fans piped up to cheer.

Even a borderline xenophobic comment from a fellow fan about sending Aldo back to the favelas drew uproarious laughter. There are few precedents to such a long-reigning UFC champion being treated with such indifference.

“I will strike him with every limb — the knee, the heel, the fist, the elbow,” McGregor said in between deep breaths. “I will be a ghost in there. He will think I am there, and then I am not there. He will think I am not there, and then I am there. I’m going to put on a masterpiece for this fight.”

Aldo’s reactions to McGregor verbally coming after him don’t help matters. Aldo sometimes smiles while listening to McGregor, but mostly sits idly by and half-heartedly dismisses the trash talk.

“It really doesn’t matter to me if he underestimates me,” Aldo said. “I train for myself, I fight for myself, so whatever he thinks or anyone else doesn’t matter at all to me. I’m going to go in there and win, which is what I always do.”

There’s no arguing Aldo is a walking embodiment of the DJ Khaled song in ways other fighters only wish they were. He’s been flattening opponents in professional fights since McGregor was 16 years old and not yet involved in martial arts.

So much attention has been devoted to McGregor’s advantages — the most cited being his size, power and Southpaw stance — it’s almost as if it’s forgotten that Aldo has just as many edges if not more.

Aldo has the most vicious leg kicks in the sport. He’s quicker. He’s a more proven grappler.

That’s not to say Aldo will remain as the only featherweight champion in UFC history. It’s just that he’s not the type of fighter that McGregor should put his guard down against.

“It’s only as tough as you make it,” McGregor said. “I have been making them pretty easy for myself, I feel. This one will be a spectacle. This one will be a master class. This one will be a changing of the guard, bringing in a new era.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.