Issue 211
November 2024
One second earlier, he’d delivered the most memorable counterpunch in UFC history. Taking just 13 seconds, it was the perfect fight length for the TikTok generation In just 13 seconds. UFC 194 was a title bout that became a game of spiders and flies. Jose Aldo was the reigning king of the featherweights, unbeaten in a decade, lavished in composure and legacy. McGregor was, and still is, everything Aldo wasn’t. Brash. Bold. Predictably unpredictable. His seemingly farfetched prophecies seemed to manifest into reality, and he took the world with him on for the ride. When the bell rang, Aldo charged forward, and McGregor, loose as ever, unleashed a counterattacking left hand that landed clean. While he was falling and presumably also KO’d, Aldo even landed a punch to McGregor’s temple. Next came the hammer fist moment, where McGregor sealed his legacy and was the rise of his empire. It was more than just a knockout; it was a coronation where everything he’d ever said came true, taking his talk and turning it into the walk. Today, it’s a snapshot of a Conor we once knew. He was the sharpshooter who backed up every syllable of his pre-fight speeches with surgical precision. Love him or hate him, that night, McGregor proved that when the stakes were at their peak, he could shatter the world’s expectations of him into their individual molecules.
December 12, 2015
UFC 194, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada