Conor McGregor ends Jose Aldo’s UFC reign in 13-second fight
HE talked the talk, and then on Sunday, he walked the walk.
27-year old Irishman Conor McGregor became the undisputed UFC featherweight champion of the world at UFC 194 with a knock-out win over Brazilian Jose Aldo in Las Vegas.
McGregor took only 13 seconds – the fastest ever end to a bout in UFC Championship history – to end the 10-year unbeaten reign of Jose Aldo.
It was Jose Aldo’s first ever knock-out loss in competitive fighting at the professional level.
Amazingly, Conor McGregor in an interview prior to the fight told a reporter almost exactly how the fight would end.
After facing off against Aldo at the weigh ins; McGregor made this bold prediction.
“I felt when we stared down I felt his right hand was twitching, which was a subtle tell for me,” McGregor said two days before the fight.
“He is ready to unload that right hand and I feel that could be a downfall for him. If he lets that right hand go, I will not be there. I simply enter the way I enter, and that is enough.
“They either overextend or they shrink away, but either way it is not good for them. I will create traps and dead space inside that octagon, and I will walk him into that dead space, but all of a sudden he will be in danger.”
McGregor believes his bold prediction gave him the strength of mind to finish off Aldo in a record time.
“(If) You have the courage enough to speak it, it will happen. I see these shots, I see these sequences, and I don’t shy away from them.
“A lot of times people believe in certain things but they keep them to themselves, they don’t put it out there. If you truly believe in it, if you become vocal with it, you are creating that law of attraction and it will become reality.”
“I knew he would overextend. And I knew I’d catch him,”
The loss was a difficult one to take for Jose Aldo.
The Brazilian was distraught after the loss and was in tears in the aftermath of the defeat.
“It still is too hard to digest,” Aldo said.
“We trained hard, did everything right, and the result wasn’t positive. It takes a while for us to digest, but it’s part [of the sport].
“It’s a sport and we have to accept.”
The 28-year old Brazilian was lost for words when it came to recalling just what happened to see him lose his ranking as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
“So, there wasn’t even a fight, right? Only 13 seconds,” he said.
“And I also remember when I came in, how I tried to punch. But, man, it’s hard to say know if it’s [his] success or [my] mistake.
“It’s a quick decision, and he was able to connect a good punch when I tried a combination.”
Due to his long reign at the top it is safe to assume an immediate rematch could be on the cards for Aldo, despite calls for him to go back through the ranks and earn his shot given the nature of his defeat.
Aldo said he will need time to regroup and assess his options, but believes his reign at the top – which saw him remain undefeated for over 10 years – affords him a rematch option.
“We spoke [with UFC President Dana White] right after,” he said.
“But I think it’s too soon to talk. Of course, I want a rematch, and I think I have this right. Not only me, but my career speaks for itself.”
“It wasn’t this time, but we will come out victorious, for sure. It’s a sport, we have to accept. Not only from wins you live your life. That makes us stronger. Way stronger. You can be sure that we will come back stronger, more champion than I was before.”
After his featherweight championship win, McGregor has already made the audacious claim that he will jump to the lightweight division and be the first person in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously.
One man who is hoping that the champ plans on making his next fight in the featherweight division is Frankie Edgar.
Edgar defeated Chad Mendes via knockout just one night before UFC 194 at the ultimate fighter finale and looms as the logical title match up if McGregor stays in the division and Aldo does not get the direct rematch.
Edgar implored the featherweight champion to stay in the division.
“Stick around, man,” Edgar said after McGregor’s UFC 194 win.
“One more go at it. I know people on Twitter are saying I could beat him. Let him prove them wrong.”
Edgar has excelled at featherweight since ironically moving down from lightweight and thinks McGregor needs to get past him first before moving up in weight.
“He’s not done at 145 yet, I feel,” he said.
“He wants to do both, but I think he needs to fight me first. I’m his toughest challenge. I think a lot of people know that. I just want my opportunity.”
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