Despite people lining up to knock Aldo “frequently” missing title fights, the truth is that only the light heavyweight and lightweight titles have been defended more often than the featherweight strap since Aldo first claimed it from Brown in November 2009. In fact, it was rumored that Mendes would get a shot at Aldo after he defeated Michihiro Omigawa in his UFC debut in February of 2011, but that fight went to Kenny Florian.
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The outspoken McGregor has a chance to undo a lot of that damage Saturday when he faces Chad Mendes for the interim featherweight title. His hands are good. The Irishman has become a superstar in a short amount of time, and is one week away from participating in one of the most anticipated UFC events of all time, against Chad Mendes.
Chad Mendes and Conor McGregor are the focal point in the lobby at the MGM Grand.
As everyone knows, McGregor has made a habit of making bold predictions since he arrived in the UFC, and leading up to the biggest fight of his life, that hasn’t changed.
Prado guarantees that Mendes will surprise McGregor, however. Still, White says McGregor’s willingness to do such a thing goes to show the world just how much confidence he carries around. Obviously McGregor wasn’t happy with Aldo pulling out of their championship fight. “Alpha Male doesn’t turn down fights, and that’s why we have credit with the UFC”. All the trash talk from McGregor was written off by the media as simply a promotion technique for their fight, but I would say it had real implications on the match-up here.
In terms of his abilities in the cage, Aldo is one of the most talented fighters in the sport today – a blend of speed and precision while standing and owning some of the best takedown defence we’ve seen thus far.
At first it appeared the fight may still happen when it was reported that he was medically cleared by doctors, however Aldo recently posted his X-Ray results that indicated a break.
However, even if he beats Mendes, there will always be naysayers. Perhaps the most impressive statistic is McGregor’s volume.
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If Mendes were to come out on top, a number-one contenders bout between Edgar and McGregor could very well be on the cards. At the end of the day, the fight game is a mental game and if judges could score that, McGregor would have a huge advantage leading up to fight night. This is the big question mark hanging over McGregor, because we do not know how he will handle an elite wrestler like Mendes. Since that first meeting, both men have continued to evolve and grow as fighters.
