Even before Conor McGregor delivered his brutal blows to Jose Aldo in Saturday night’s UFC featherweight title fight, his fans showed they could throw a few punches of their own.
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The Irishman finally got his hands on Aldo’s belt in Las Vegas courtesy of an exemplary left hook that left the former champion unconscious.
The UFC 194 card attracted record receipts in the United States of £6.67m and looks set to surpass the company’s pay-per-view record figures of around 1.5 million buys.
Either way, the 27-year-old from Dublin will be front and centre, just as he been for most of the year. It is a very good one.
So, when I go up for that lightweight belt and take that belt I will still be the featherweight champion also.
But this isn’t just the ascent of a new champion, like when Holm took the belt from Rousey or as Luke Rockhold did against Chris Weidman in the UFC 194 co-main event on Saturday. Or he can vacate the 145-pound championship and move up to lightweight to fight for the 155-pound crown.
From the moment he arrived in the UFC in 2013, not long after getting off public assistance in his native Ireland, McGregor vowed he’d shoot to the top of the sport. Such is the demeanor of the man and his ability in the ring that he’s always going to be centre stage. I think it doesn’t end there. You travel around so much, you’re making weight or doing something.
EA Sports had announced that the victor of McGregor’s fight against Jose Aldo would join Rousey on the cover of the second installment of its UFC game.
“We need the rematch because that was not a fight, so we need to get back in here”. He says that he intends to sit back over Christmas and assess his options and will then come back with a plan in early 2016. According to Dana White, Aldo was “devastated” after the fight. “I said one round”.
McGregor, who has only gone the distance once in 21 fights, offers a combination of power and precision.
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“I respect Jose”, he added. I get to go home. McGregor discussed a potential move up to lightweight (watch the video above) or a defense of his newly won crown against Frankie Edgar, which would seemingly leave Aldo out of the loop. “I stay busy. I will be a dual weight champion and the belts will still be active, because I’m as active as anyone”.
