Issue 130
July 2015
The biggest featherweight battle in history is finally upon us, but who will leave the MGM Grand Garden Arena on the 145lb throne?
A very great champion needs a great foil to make them a household name. Trash-talk king Chael Sonnen elevated Anderson Silva to become one of the most popular fighters ever, and UFC 100 still holds the promotion’s PPV record thanks to Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir’s heavyweight grudge match. Now José Aldo has his own nemesis: unflappable Irishman Conor McGregor.
Both men have fired verbal shots at each other for months now, and tension between them was palpable on their UFC 189 world press tour to promote this fight. Their back-and-forth bickering reached boiling point when McGregor snatched Aldo’s UFC title belt before hoisting it up into the air triumphantly in front of his screaming countrymen in Dublin. The Brazilian needed to be restrained by UFC president Dana White to prevent a premature duel.
McGregor gained the advantage when it came to mind games, but their issues will be settled with fists. When it comes to fighting, Aldo’s resumé speaks for itself. The first and only UFC featherweight champion has been the best in his weight class since he smashed Mike Brown to win the WEC belt in 2009, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Top fighters like Urijah Faber, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes and former UFC 155lb champ Frankie Edgar have all failed to rip the belt away from the Nova Uniao fighter. That’s not to say McGregor is going to be a walk in the park for Aldo.
‘The Notorious’ boasts an outstanding set of skills and a lethal fan-friendly finishing style. He’s been accused of being all mouth, but he backs up his bravado every time he steps into the Octagon. All but one of his five UFC opponents have been left crumpled on the canvas courtesy of his heavy hands since his 2013 debut.
Fans are split down the middle, so Fighters Only turns to the experts for their analysis and final verdict about who will have the belt wrapped around their waist by Dana White at the end of the night.
FO speaks to three of the leading coaches in the business to get their thoughts and predictions ahead of the UFC featherweight division’s most bankable championship matchup.
BJJ
Ricardo Liborio
American Top Team head coach BJJ black belt
“When it comes to jiu-jitsu, José Aldo is on a different level to McGregor. The only time I’ve seen Conor McGregor losing a fight was when he was taken to the ground and submitted. I know that Aldo is a world champion and a Brazilian national champion in jiu-jitsu. What people don’t realize is: being a jiu-jitsu national champion in Brazil says a lot about someone.
“People say that the Russian wrestling national championship is tougher than the Olympic Games and it’s the same thing with the national (BJJ) championship in Brazil. They have all these high-level guys in Brazil who want to be champion and he’s the one who won it.
“Aldo has the titles to prove he’s an outstanding jiu-jitsu guy while Conor doesn’t have that. However, I heard that he’s training with Gunnar Nelson, who is fantastic at jiu-jitsu. He’s probably getting a lot from training with him, but knowing Nova Uniao and knowing Andre Pederneiras, who is Aldo’s coach, and the level all the guys at that gym are training at, I don’t think McGregor is on that level.”
WINNER: José Aldo
STRIKING
Steven Wright
Team Takedown Muay Thai coach
“I would definitely pick José Aldo to win this fight in the striking. He’s one of those rare athletes that you always pick until you see them lose. It’s not that Conor doesn’t have the skills to score on him because we’ve seen that he’s a really good striker. However, Aldo has a great chin and, as we saw in the last fight with Mendes, he’s ready to fight back admittedly after he’s been hit.
“There’s something in his mind that tells him to get that point back that’s been taken from him. After Mendes scored the strike that people thought would’ve got him in trouble, Aldo got right back at him and hurt Mendes with a strike of his own. He had the mentality to get right back in there even though he was hurt.
“I don’t believe Conor has the defensive part of striking down yet. Even though he stopped Dustin Poirier he was getting hit by low kicks and he wasn’t checking any of them and he also took big shots from Poirier. Luckily for him, he’s got a good enough chin to take those shots. Also, when you’ve got the vision and you can see a punch coming your way, you can usually take the shots better.
“However, Aldo is a different level of fighter compared to Poirier and if I had to choose between Aldo and McGregor I’d go with the champ. Anything Aldo throws will score on Conor, but anything Conor throws won’t score on Aldo. I just think the champion’s got a better understanding of that range and I really like his skills when it comes to striking.”
WINNER: José Aldo
WRESTLING
Kenny Monday
Team Takedown wrestling coach
“It’s a really tough fight to call. Both of them are very exciting fighters who are disciplined athletes. The one thing I’ve noticed about McGregor is that sometimes he’s out of position to create opportunities for himself. However, he likes to open himself up a little bit, dance around and lull his opponents to sleep before he attacks them. He’s very strong in those attacks and I like seeing that.
“Aldo has very strong defense when it comes to wrestling and it’s probably one of the best in the world. I’ve never seen him go after takedowns quite as much as he’s been able to defend them because he wants to stay on his feet and punch and kick his opponents.
“Honestly, I don’t see this going to the ground a whole lot during the fight. Those two will want to keep the fight on the feet, however, if McGregor was somehow able to take Aldo down he won’t be able to hold him there. I definitely don’t see that happening because he has a great ability to get his hips out and spring back up to his feet. It’s a really good skill-set to have.”
WINNER: José Aldo
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