Aldo vs. McGregor

[Towney007]

Pretty easy. Dana sees how bloody marketable Conor is. Knows he'd probably get dropped by Aldo next time up. Better to make as much money off Conor as he can in the meantime.

Kind of my point.

I have such a love/hate relationship with UFC because a guy can win under *literally* the most absurd circumstances ever and they promote him like he's the next Ali - but do so subjectively. I mean does anyone else think Matt Serra - had he knocked GSP out tonight and had Frankie Edgar in the wings... that he'd be fighting him? Of course not!

Ronda Lousey deserves to be fighting Holly Holm about as much as... well.. I'm not really sure.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Didnt watch. Ufc is pretty boring to me right now. A woman is the biggest name in the sport !

 

[TasteofUConn]

Yeah Aldo ran into a pretty well timed punch. That being said - he doesn't this would probably have been a 3-4 round crucifixion. Aldo's skills are so far past MacGregor's

This smacks of a Sherdog butt hurt post. Not sure about Aldo's "far past" skills, but one "skill" that he needs to work on is not getting hit on the chin when you're fighting a guy who appears to have tremendous knock out power. That's kind of an important skill.
Your post suggests that a lucky punch ended the fight. I don't agree. MacGregor has excellent power and is a pinpoint striker. If you could erase the KO punch, there's no reason to believe that MacGregor wouldn't have landed another sooner or later.

 

[TasteofUConn]

Aldo doesn't. After basically running into one, single punch in 10 years of slicing an entire division + into ribbons. Probably because he doesn't speaky engels.

Dude, what? The UFC cares about making money. That's it. They'll make the fights that make the money, which is to say they'll make the fights that the fans want to see.

 

[MexicoHusky]

Really? I thought that was a fun card.

Card was great. I thought the fights were kinda dissapointing

 

[Chin Diesel]

Dana White often says this a young, hungry man's sport.

Aldo is either at the end if his prime or last his prime and hadn't been in the ring in 14 months. Those are always huge red flags.

The reason he isn't getting an immediate rematch like St. Pierre or Rousey is that Aldo isn't headlining fights going forward.

He's a used up commodity.

If he was 25 and had the results last night, he'd get the rematch.

Plus, as White said afterwards, McGregor may be moving up to 155 anyway making a rematch moot.

 

[Citrusdog]

My son called it (well sort of). He said McGregor would knock him out in 2.. no later than 3. He said they laughed at him at the Ale House... 13 seconds later...

 

[MexicoHusky]

I watched the fight in a packed wild wings last night. Standing room only. I keep reading how ufc is dying on this board, but that crowd happens for no other sport.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I'm sure it's been talked about before, but why isn't mma an olympic sport? They already have really great national rivalries.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Record gate receipt.

 

[intlzncster]

I'm sure it's been talked about before, but why isn't mma an olympic sport? They already have really great national rivalries.

I heard rumblings that it was under consideration. Don't know how accurate that is.

 

[huskypantz]

Dana White often says this a young, hungry man's sport.

Aldo is either at the end if his prime or last his prime and hadn't been in the ring in 14 months. Those are always huge red flags.

The reason he isn't getting an immediate rematch like St. Pierre or Rousey is that Aldo isn't headlining fights going forward.

He's a used up commodity.

If he was 25 and had the results last night, he'd get the rematch.

Plus, as White said afterwards, McGregor may be moving up to 155 anyway making a rematch moot.

Aldo is 29 and well within his prime. He had never lost and could very well have had a little ring rust after a long layoff. Depending on the PPV buys, Dana will quickly change his mind about a rematch. I think he has earned the right for an immediate rematch.

 

[Towney007]

↑

Yeah Aldo ran into a pretty well timed punch. That being said - he doesn't this would probably have been a 3-4 round crucifixion. Aldo's skills are so far past MacGregor's
This smacks of a Sherdog butt hurt post. Not sure about Aldo's "far past" skills, but one "skill" that he needs to work on is not getting hit on the chin when you're fighting a guy who appears to have tremendous knock out power. That's kind of an important skill.
Your post suggests that a lucky punch ended the fight. I don't agree. MacGregor has excellent power and is a pinpoint striker. If you could erase the KO punch, there's no reason to believe that MacGregor wouldn't have landed another sooner or later.

Aldo's head movement is some of the best in MMA - arguably ever. So i'd say he's been pretty good at it on the whole and even when he's gotten smoked, he's usually had the chin to take it and keep coming. He got hit with one, well timed shot. In ten years.

Dude, what? The UFC cares about making money. That's it. They'll make the fights that make the money, which is to say they'll make the fights that the fans want to see.

Gee is that what it is? Thank the lord I have my bro's on the BONE YARD~! to let me know how fight promotion works. And here I was the whole time thinking UFC was a 501(c)3 designed to benevolently give me what I want.

Look - you can make a case either way here - or make both cases simultaneously because they're both correct.

From a pure consistency point - Aldo should get a rematch. If Rousey got one after embarrassing herself, GSP got one after not keeping up on his 'skill' of not getting hit on the chin by a guy with knockout power, Silva got one, and on and on... then I'd think considering Aldo's essentially been that entire division forever- that he'd get a rematch. And you're joking me if you think MacGregor-Aldo II is a worse draw than Silva-Wideman II or GSP-Serra. If you're in it to make money, you're going to make money off that fight.

That being said - I DO THINK the whole idea that the 'legendary champ gets instant rematch' thing is inherently stupid. Champions shouldn't get punished for their successes. MacGregor knockout out arguably one of the greatest MMA fighters in history with one shot. Why shouldn't he get to take a fight more to his liking? Same thing with Holly Holm. She shouldn't have to sit on the shelf to wait for Ronda Rousey's face to reset in a million months. She likes to fight frequently - Meisha Tate is in line, wants to fight her, Holly wants to fight Meisha, so make the fight already. What's worse is if they wait all that time, and then Ronda doesn't want to fight, pulls out due to injury or doesn't get cleared. So I hate the system and if Aldo's the necessary sacrifice to get rid of it - then so be it.

I also think Edgar has more than earned his shot and at least from a style standpoint - is a really bad match up for Conor. I don't think him getting the first crack at Conor is at all ridiculous.

If I were Dana, what I'd do to appease all parties would be fairly simple. Give Frankie Edgar first shot at Conor. No matter what happens - Conor has to fight Aldo next - with or without the belt before he can move up in weight.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

Pretty easy. Dana sees how bloody marketable Conor is. Knows he'd probably get dropped by Aldo next time up. Better to make as much money off Conor as he can in the meantime.

If you're going to go that far I'm surprised you don't wonder if Aldo got paid to take a dive. Not sure how they made this fight the first time if you really believe what you said here.


As a casual UFC fan, and assuming the fight was legit, I don't see the pressing need for an immediate rematch either. Let Aldo win 1-2 fights and revisit this in 9 months.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

I watched the fight in a packed wild wings last night. Standing room only. I keep reading how ufc is dying on this board, but that crowd happens for no other sport.

This was their most anticipated fight in a couple years, and this turnout happens for any relatively big boxing fight or even WWE shows.

 

[intlzncster]

If you're going to go that far I'm surprised you don't wonder if Aldo got paid to take a dive. Not sure how they made this fight the first time if you really believe what you said here.
As a casual UFC fan, and assuming the fight was legit, I don't see the pressing need for an immediate rematch either. Let Aldo win 1-2 fights and revisit this in 9 months.

I totally believe it, and don't think it's really that out of line or a conspiracy or anything. Dana's number one job is to make money. Connor is (will be) a money making machine, especially in the US, where the bulk of the money is made. If this was boxing, no one would blink an eye at this way of operating.

I mean, why is he giving fighters in the other matches immediate rematches? Because Weidman, and especially Rousey, are incredibly marketable fighters. Hell he's giving Rousey a year+ to heal, and holding back Holm to make the next fight a guaranteed title fight. It serves no purpose for Aldo to fight other fights, as he's dominated the sport for years. Let's see the two best go at it.

I definitely don't think Aldo took a dive. He ran into a punch and got his clock cleaned. It happens. If that was a dive, it would have been the most epic dive in history.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

I totally believe it, and don't think it's really that out of line or a conspiracy or anything. Dana's number one job is to make money. Connor is (will be) a money making machine, especially in the US, where the bulk of the money is made. If this was boxing, no one would blink an eye at this way of operating.

I mean, why is he giving fighters in the other matches immediate rematches? Because Weidman, and especially Rousey, are incredibly marketable fighters. Hell he's giving Rousey a year+ to heal, and holding back Holm to make the next fight a guaranteed title fight. It serves no purpose for Aldo to fight other fights, as he's dominated the sport for years. Let's see the two best go at it.

I definitely don't think Aldo took a dive. He ran into a punch and got his clock cleaned. It happens. If that was a dive, it would have been the most epic dive in history.

If Dana is afraid Conor will get beat by Aldo, why did he make the fight the first time then? Conor losing a 2nd fight and being 1-1 against Aldo is a lot less disastrous for his marketability than losing the first fight and, depending on how Saturday's fight went down, potentially looking Rousey levels of fraudulent.

The reason Aldo shouldn't be given an immediate rematch is the same reason we didn't see Floyd/Pacquiao II, the fights themselves were disappointing. Rousey is getting a pass due to both her marketability, but also because there's absolutely no depth in that division. I have no desire to see a Holm/Tate matchup before Rousey gets a rematch.

The only way you can possibly fix a UFC fight is the way that fight went down, not giving Aldo an immediate rematch serves this theory as well. Keep them apart for a fight, then all of a sudden Conor moves up in weight before the eventual rematch can be made and Aldo gets his title back while UFC's current biggest cash cow keeps his credibility for awhile longer. Not saying I believe it, but I wouldn't be totally shocked if this is similar to what we saw beginning to unfold Saturday night.

 

[MexicoHusky]

This was their most anticipated fight in a couple years, and this turnout happens for any relatively big boxing fight or even WWE shows.

The same thing happened a few weeks ago with Rousey. The bar was also pretty packed in July for UFC 189. That was McGregor again, but that's 3 packed bars in less than 6 months. I rarely see bars like this for boxing. Never for WWE.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

The same thing happened a few weeks ago with Rousey. The bar was also pretty packed in July for UFC 189. That was McGregor again, but that's 3 packed bars in less than 6 months. I rarely see bars like this for boxing. Never for WWE.

Been a few months since I've gone but the closest spot to me is the Hooters on the Berlin Turnpike and it's been standing room only for literally any Boxing or WWE event I've ever gone there for.

 

[intlzncster]

If Dana is afraid Conor will get beat by Aldo, why did he make the fight the first time then? Conor losing a 2nd fight and being 1-1 against Aldo is a lot less disastrous for his marketability than losing the first fight and, depending on how Saturday's fight went down, potentially looking Rousey levels of fraudulent.

The reason Aldo shouldn't be given an immediate rematch is the same reason we didn't see Floyd/Pacquiao II, the fights themselves were disappointing. Rousey is getting a pass due to both her marketability, but also because there's absolutely no depth in that division. I have no desire to see a Holm/Tate matchup before Rousey gets a rematch.

Dana had to give him the original fight, because Aldo was the champ. No belt = no credibility. But once he (Conor) has the belt, then he's 'protected' so to speak. If Dana allows him to move up in weight and never fight Aldo again, that'll be the weakest of weak moves in that sport.

I'm not saying I'm right, just that I wouldn't be the least bit surprised that I am.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

Dana had to give him the original fight, because Aldo was the champ. No belt = no credibility. But once he (Conor) has the belt, then he's 'protected' so to speak. If Dana allows him to move up in weight and never fight Aldo again, that'll be the weakest of weak moves in that sport.

I'm not saying I'm right, just that I wouldn't be the least bit surprised that I am.

Conor is a draw regardless of whether he has the belt, the only thing UFC is worried about is him getting pasted or dominated on the ground ala Weidman. Doesn't really jive with having him take the first Aldo fight but avoiding a rematch under legitimate pretense.

Going off the assumed premise that the fight was 100% legit, I can speak for myself as a casual UFC (and hardcore boxing fan) that I have no interest in seeing an immediate rematch of a 13-second 1 punch KO.

 

[intlzncster]

Conor is a draw regardless of whether he has the belt, the only thing UFC is worried about is him getting pasted or dominated on the ground ala Weidman. Doesn't really jive with having him take the first Aldo fight but avoiding a rematch under legitimate pretense.

Going off the assumed premise that the fight was 100% legit, I can speak for myself as a casual UFC (and hardcore boxing fan) that I have no interest in seeing an immediate rematch of a 13-second 1 punch KO.

Thing is (I too am a casual UFC fan who's seen Aldo fight a few times), I think Aldo beats him 8 times out of 10. I really think it was a fluke. I want to see if Conor can go the distance with Aldo, sans gift-from-gods.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

Thing is (I too am a casual UFC fan who's seen Aldo fight a few times), I think Aldo beats him 8 times out of 10. I really think it was a fluke. I want to see if Conor can go the distance with Aldo, sans gift-from-gods.

I've seen Aldo fight too, but isn't the knock on him that, especially recently, he fades later into fights? So, you want to see if the guy who won via 1-punch KO can go 5 with a guy who's known for fading deeper into fights?

Also our 2-person sample shows that only 50% of us want to see a rematch. I'm sure the interest level for the first fight was much higher ;-)

 

[Rocktheworld]

I watched the fight in a packed wild wings last night. Standing room only. I keep reading how ufc is dying on this board, but that crowd happens for no other sport.

Would you say boxing is alive and well right now?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Thing is (I too am a casual UFC fan who's seen Aldo fight a few times), I think Aldo beats him 8 times out of 10. I really think it was a fluke. I want to see if Conor can go the distance with Aldo, sans gift-from-gods.

Aldo looked beaten before he stepped in the cage. I said out loud before the fight that something looked off with him. 30 seconds later he's dozing. I hope Edgar gets a shot - he's not a kid that's going to wilt in the run up.

 

[Towney007]

Thing is (I too am a casual UFC fan who's seen Aldo fight a few times), I think Aldo beats him 8 times out of 10. I really think it was a fluke. I want to see if Conor can go the distance with Aldo, sans gift-from-gods.

I hate CALLING it a fluke, because Conor's precision is what makes him so good. And that was as surgical as they come. And I really don't care how you do it - but beating the world's absolute best fighter and arguably one of the best of all time with one punch in 13 seconds is an incredible accomplishment.

But talk about *literally* the worst possible scenario for Aldo ever... It's part of why I just have such a hard time getting on the MacGregor bandwagon. He beat Mendes on a two week camp, guys. And didn't really start the fight off very well... at all. He wasn't even that overwhelming in his other fights. Good - certainly. But not exactly a guy who really blew me out of the water.

I've seen almost all of Aldo's US fights and certainly have seen all of Conor's and I really don't think there's much of a comparison to be made. Aldo's better and pretty much everything. And yeah - he's a more accurate striker, too. He just got caught. It happens in MMA, a lot actually. If guys like Matt Serra can KO GSP, then Conor MacGregor can easily KO Jose Aldo. I refuse to call it lucky because it clearly wasn't. But I don't feel like i've seen enough to brand MacGregor as some pale Mike Tyson or something.

As for the rematch though - I really wish people would stop playing the 'DERP THE DERPY DERP WAS 'FRAID, K, I KNOW CUZ LOOK' card. Aldo wasn't afraid of Conor. Dana isn't afraid of giving Aldo a rematch because he's afraid he'd beat Conor, either... I personally think the reason a rematch isn't happening immediately is because of one of two (or both) reasons:

1.) There's legitimate heat between Aldo's management and the UFC.

OR

2.) Dana just doesn't have faith in Aldo-MacGregor II drawing. He's worked overtime to get Conor over as their top guy and with Rousey's brand almost irreparably damaged, he needs that top guy. A lot of top dudes lost this year. Awful year if you're the UFC's marketing agency. You have to give fans the fight they're going to buy into the most and i'm not sure trying to sell a guy who got clipped in 13 seconds as your challenger is gonna do that to Joe Blow fan. As good as Aldo is - he's not the draw a lot of other top guys are.

The wrench here is that Frankie Edgar CLEARLY deserves a title shot. He's beaten everyone. He also represents a huge style issue for Conor. Conor wants that fight. Frankie wants that fight. It makes sense, it's intriguing, it's fresh. What I don't want to see is Conor get through the Edgar fight and just head to the lightweight ranks. His size has been a huge asset as a featherweight. I feel like he's going to be a huge disappointment as a lightweight.

 

[TasteofUConn]

I've seen almost all of Aldo's US fights and certainly have seen all of Conor's and I really don't think there's much of a comparison to be made. Aldo's better and pretty much everything. . . . He just got caught.

The butt hurt is strong with this one.
The classic argument of the Butt Hurt: "He was better, he just got caught."
A lot of guys at the end of their careers "just get caught." Lidell, Henderson, Couture.
Aldo dodged Conor once. He knew he was in trouble. Rogan commented during the intro that Aldo looked nervous. Conor predicted during an interview that Aldo would overreach and get KOed with a counter.

When you're a fan boy, I know it hurts, but, at least at this point in their careers, MacGregor is probably just a better fighter.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

Would you say boxing is alive and well right now?

Boxing is in pretty good shape with the PBC coverage being on so many major networks.

I hate CALLING it a fluke, because Conor's precision is what makes him so good. And that was as surgical as they come. And I really don't care how you do it - but beating the world's absolute best fighter and arguably one of the best of all time with one punch in 13 seconds is an incredible accomplishment.

But talk about *literally* the worst possible scenario for Aldo ever... It's part of why I just have such a hard time getting on the MacGregor bandwagon. He beat Mendes on a two week camp, guys. And didn't really start the fight off very well... at all. He wasn't even that overwhelming in his other fights. Good - certainly. But not exactly a guy who really blew me out of the water.

I've seen almost all of Aldo's US fights and certainly have seen all of Conor's and I really don't think there's much of a comparison to be made. Aldo's better and pretty much everything. And yeah - he's a more accurate striker, too. He just got caught. It happens in MMA, a lot actually. If guys like Matt Serra can KO GSP, then Conor MacGregor can easily KO Jose Aldo. I refuse to call it lucky because it clearly wasn't. But I don't feel like i've seen enough to brand MacGregor as some pale Mike Tyson or something.

As for the rematch though - I really wish people would stop playing the 'DERP THE DERPY DERP WAS 'FRAID, K, I KNOW CUZ LOOK' card. Aldo wasn't afraid of Conor. Dana isn't afraid of giving Aldo a rematch because he's afraid he'd beat Conor, either... I personally think the reason a rematch isn't happening immediately is because of one of two (or both) reasons:

1.) There's legitimate heat between Aldo's management and the UFC.

OR

2.) Dana just doesn't have faith in Aldo-MacGregor II drawing. He's worked overtime to get Conor over as their top guy and with Rousey's brand almost irreparably damaged, he needs that top guy. A lot of top dudes lost this year. Awful year if you're the UFC's marketing agency. You have to give fans the fight they're going to buy into the most and i'm not sure trying to sell a guy who got clipped in 13 seconds as your challenger is gonna do that to Joe Blow fan. As good as Aldo is - he's not the draw a lot of other top guys are.

The wrench here is that Frankie Edgar CLEARLY deserves a title shot. He's beaten everyone. He also represents a huge style issue for Conor. Conor wants that fight. Frankie wants that fight. It makes sense, it's intriguing, it's fresh. What I don't want to see is Conor get through the Edgar fight and just head to the lightweight ranks. His size has been a huge asset as a featherweight. I feel like he's going to be a huge disappointment as a lightweight.

To B: Conor only had 2 weeks to prepare for Mendes as well, that goes both ways.

To B (part 2): December 2015 Aldo may not be the Aldo you remember watching from the past few years. Also, this is an awfully declarative statement to make when one guy just absolutely demolished the other. Why even have the fights if what happens IN THE FIGHT ultimately doesn't matter in your assessment of each fighter?

To I: Pretty much everything you said here is correct.

The butt hurt is strong with this one.
The classic argument of the Butt Hurt: "He was better, he just got caught."
A lot of guys at the end of their careers "just get caught." Lidell, Henderson, Couture.
Aldo dodged Conor once. He knew he was in trouble. Rogan commented during the intro that Aldo looked nervous. Conor predicted during an interview that Aldo would overreach and get KOed with a counter.

When you're a fan boy, I know it hurts, but, at least at this point in their careers, MacGregor is probably just a better fighter.

Basically this.

 

[huskypantz]

Boxing is in pretty good shape with the PBC coverage being on so many major networks.

There is no doubt that the UFC is eating into the future of boxing (fans) but when a sport just had a fight with 4.6 million PPV buys, it's tough to call boxing anything other than alive and well.

 

[intlzncster]

There is no doubt that the UFC is eating into the future of boxing (fans) but when a sport just had a fight with 4.6 million PPV buys, it's tough to call boxing anything other than alive and well.

The question is, how many of those draws will boxing have? That Mayweather fight was a once in a decade, seeing as people have been calling for it for that long.