UFC 179: Aldo vs Mendes 2

[Guy Bifkin]

The show was probably the worst I have seen until the main event. Brilliant effort from both men. I thought it was a little closer than most but I definitely had Aldo winning 1,2 and 5. Before anyone takes me to task over that, I'm happy to admit knowing next to fuck all about MMA scoring. As for Conor vs Aldo, I'd favour Aldo but Conor keeps surprising me. Lets hope everything goes to plan and it happens next summer, preferably in Ireland so I can go to it!

[wandshogun09]

I thought it was a little closer than most but I definitely had Aldo winning 1,2 and 5. Before anyone takes me to task over that, I'm happy to admit knowing next to fuck all about MMA scoring.

Nah, no-one can really take issue with that. I only had Mendes winning the fourth round but if you gave him another round in there I don't think that's outrageous. There were a couple of rounds where they both hurt each other so there wasn't that much in those rounds. Like Noah (I think) said, the 49-46 scoreline, while just, doesn't really tell the story of how competitive a fight it was. I just felt like Aldo was doing just enough to keep ahead in those rounds.

[wandshogun09]

Carrying on from lamby's post about McGregor on the last page - Something just occurred to me that I hadn't even considered before.

 

McGregor debuted in the UFC in April 2013. So he's only been in the UFC around 18 months, yeah?

 

Now consider that he was on the shelf with the ACL injury from August 2013 to July 2014. That's 11 months out of his 18 in the company.

 

So he's only really been an active UFC fighter for about 7 months. And in that time he's gone 4-0 with 3 first round stoppages including a two minute KO over #5 ranked Dustin Poirier.

 

Madness when you think about it.

 

Also, he's come back from that ACL surgery so impressively I think most people have forgot he even had the surgery. You can't understate how serious ACL injuries can be. Look at GSP. He was never quite the same after he suffered a similar injury. He even said himself that when he returned to training he was a shell of himself and was struggling with even basic training for a while. Firas Zahabi even said they thought about canceling the Condit fight because GSP looked so awful when he first started camp.

 

I'm sure McGregor went through a similar down period but he's really returned in style. I don't think he got enough credit for that to be fair. To come back from such an injury and look better than ever is pretty incredible. It's not Dominick Cruz returning after three years and wrecking Mizugaki, but it's pretty damn badass how he's just returned and carried on like it was no big deal.

[Carbomb]

Well, he did claim he was going to come back better than anyone has ever done so from injury. Seems like he just states his goals and then focuses them with almost-psychotic intent, and we saw the results with Poirier. If that really is his approach, and those are the results he gets from it, I'd say it's potentially starting to look less and less likely that Aldo beats him. His level of improvement between matches is impressive, but when you couple that with his apparent focus on the things he needs to improve for each opponent as well as just his general game, he could be one scary fighter come title-fight time.

[wandshogun09]

Couple of interesting quotes from two top featherweight contenders...

 

Conor McGregor's confidence is "sky high" after watching Aldo vs Mendes 2;

 

"I believe [Aldo] can be hit but he showed his heart, he showed his will. He showed his frustration at times, as well. He was looking toward the ref and things of that nature. It was a great contest and I have nothing but respect for anyone who goes in there and lays it on the line. I feel if I connect, it will end, and that's the difference between me and these people, but again, a phenomenal contest between two amazing athletes. Nothing but respect. You can't stand like that the way [Aldo] did there. One or two clean shots from me and it is all over. I definitely saw holes in his game, of course. My confidence is sky high looking at that contest."

And Cub Swanson says the UFC have told him he's getting the next crack at Aldo, not McGregor;

 

The @ufc has assured me the next shot at Aldo. As long as I win my fight against Edgar.

If that's true then I guess that's why this McGregor vs Siver fight is happening. It's all probably to kill time so they can line up a stadium show in Dublin for the summer. If Swanson beats Edgar (and that's a BIG if, I've got Edgar winning that fight), then I reckon we'll probably get Aldo vs Swanson 2 around February/March time. McGregor's fighting Siver in January. Could line up perfectly for Aldo/Swanson vs McGregor in June or July if the results pan out.

 

What happens if Edgar beats Swanson though? I'm not so sure Edgar gets another crack at Aldo yet. He's only fought twice in the nearly two years since their last fight. A decision over Charles Oliveira and a TKO over the empty shell of BJ Penn. With a whole year between those fights. A win over Swanson helps his case of course, but I don't know. Aldo vs Edgar 1 still seems too recent IMO.

 

I think if Edgar beats Swanson and McGregor beats Siver, they'll probably just wait and do Aldo vs McGregor straight off. If Swanson beats Edgar I could see him possibly getting his shot while the UFC waits for Ireland to thaw out from the winter.

 

All this is reliant on Aldo staying healthy though. And I find it hard to imagine he fights twice between now and the summer. He's a one or two fights a year kind of fighter these days with his back and neck issues.

 

Remember when featherweight used to be thought of as a weak division? Fuck me. There's so many different directions this whole scenario could go, it's probably the most interesting division in the UFC at the moment now for me.

[Chunk]

Just imagine the scene. Free US TV, he comes out in front of that Boston crowd and is received like a hero, he KO's Siver in style with the crowd going ape shit crazy. The average viewer who didn't know much about Mcgregor beforehand will certainly know who he is, and seeing a reaction like that will make him look like a superstar in the states. Perhaps not worth the risk, but it will be amazing if it pays off.

 

This make sense in terms of them not putting McGregor on the London show too, right? Surely it would otherwise make sense to have two European fighters headline a European card.