MMA-UFC UFC 194 McGregor v Aldo

[Guy Threepwood]

Maia is the better "blanket" grappler for sure.

Definitely. It shows how far the game has progressed in the last 7 years since he debuted that he's able to still end up in dominant positions but rarely get subs anymore. His grappling is still good enough to dominate fights though and I expect if he gets on top of Gunnar he'll be able to ride out a decision.

 

[HenrikLundqvist]

Anybody know of any tv specials similar to the Rousey v Holm one that will air leading up to the fight and if so when? Cheers.

 

[Gigantic]

Anybody know of any tv specials similar to the Rousey v Holm one that will air leading up to the fight and if so when? Cheers.

The UFC Embedded video usually comes out a week before a PPV iirc and then they upload like 10 min vlogs each day starting around 1 week out until fight night

 

[BradWCE]

Just read through the posts about Maia vs Nelson. I love the fight and hope it plays out almost entirely on the ground. That'd be great. I think Maia probably wins a decision through takedowns and stifling top control.

Looks like most/all of you think Nelson keeps it standing and wins. I don't know about that. Maia's been able to take everyone he's fought at WW down. There's not much available to tell us how good Nelson is at stopping takedowns. Looking at the stats, he's had 2 takedowns attempted against him. Story took him down with one and Cummings was unsuccessful with the other.

I doubt Nelson's as good a defensive wrestler as Rory MacDonald. Maia took him down in the 1st round and dominated on the mat for most of the round. Maia also took him down in the 3rd round when Maia was absolutely exhausted.

I think a lot depends on Maia's cardio and since it's only a 3 round fight, that's better for Maia than a 5 rounder. Will think about it more leading up to the event, but right now I'd pick Maia by decision. As the fight gets into the later rounds, it favours Nelson more and more though. I'm pretty sure Maia wins the 1st round, but from then on it depends on his gas tank.

 

[BradWCE]

Definitely. It shows how far the game has progressed in the last 7 years since he debuted that he's able to still end up in dominant positions but rarely get subs anymore. His grappling is still good enough to dominate fights though and I expect if he gets on top of Gunnar he'll be able to ride out a decision.

This is certainly true. The submission defence of fighters who aren't great grapplers has improved considerably over the years, while offence in MMA hasn't. Offensive grappling has always been good and now defensive grappling has caught up. I saw something a while ago that mentioned that submissions in the UFC have dropped over the years and it's no surprise.

Another thing worth mentioning is that Maia's style isn't the style that has success submitting fighters now. His position over submission style makes it difficult for him to get submissions because he's not taking the risks that others are. Charles Oliveira is still submitting lots of guys and his style is very risky. He drops for guillotines all the time and just doesn't care about losing position. Palhares is different but similarly takes risks. Rousey too.

Then there's the fact that Maia's not a great striker and even more importantly, he doesn't pack a lot of power in his strikes. Faber hurt McDonald with punches and that opened up the submission that he got. I can't think of an example off the top of my head, but I'm sure Erick Silva has hurt opponents and then submitted them.

I meant to post this a while back, but don't think I did. It explains the position vs submission style thing that I mentioned earlier really well. Often we think of fighters as good wrestlers or submission grapplers, but don't expand on that.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2015/10/17/9539599/so-meta-mma-grappling-archetypes

 

[ezravine]

Both are great fighters, but it seems like Conor have so much advantage this time than Aldo.
But I'd like to predict that it is going to be a decision in favor of Aldo

 

[rocky44]

The UFC Embedded video usually comes out a week before a PPV iirc and then they upload like 10 min vlogs each day starting around 1 week out until fight night

Will they do embedded again? They did it in the lead up to 189 and not sure if they will do it again for Mcgregor Aldo

 

[BradWCE]

Will they do embedded again? They did it in the lead up to 189 and not sure if they will do it again for Mcgregor Aldo

They do embedded before all, or nearly all, PPV shows. Probably won't have as many parts as the 189 embedded series, but they'll definitely do it for a massive card like this one.

 

[Joker91]

20 days left

 

[nobbyiscool]

McGregor is a strange dude. He's trying to be the ultimate bad guy... but people love him more and more for it. I don't understand it - it just strikes me as the worlds biggest douchebag. I so hope he loses.

It's also strange that this fight has so much hype that Weidman/Rockhold is almost being completely overlooked. The mw championship fight could've, and possibly should've waited another month.

All that said... this might be the first PPV I order in years. I usually go to the pub and watch with a crowd, or I watch through nefarious means - but I want to be able to watch it live, and McGregor attracts a certain kind of dickhead that I don't really want to watch this event with at the pub.

 

[WA ROO]

The more I see and hear of McGregor the more I want Aldo to wreck him

 

[phantom13]

For full disclosure i think with Maia v Gunnar IF Gunnar can keep it standing i think he has better hands but its a big IF!

McGregor v Aldo, is anyone worried about cage rust with Jose? He hasnt been in the cage for over 12 months, adding to the injury last time which must have limited his training for a few months and the fact we have seen him gas in the past. I think on pure ability Jose should be favourite but with all the other factors im not so sure. Odds on my betting app have it Conor $1.55 to Jose $2.40 which seems crazy, its a 50/50 fight.

Weidman v Rockhold is probably my favourite fight on any card for the last few years TBH, i love both guys and can't wait to watch this fight, FWIW i think they have both done a good job sitting back and letting Conor do all the promo work. I was thinking about this last night how much all the additional comittments must have taken out of Ronda in the build up to 193 and how this card could be similar with Ronda. Betting on this one is $1.48 Weidman $2.60 Rockhold, that seems about right honestly.

Then Jacare v Romero and the rest of the card, god i cant wait for 194.

 

[Gigantic]

Will they do embedded again? They did it in the lead up to 189 and not sure if they will do it again for Mcgregor Aldo

Yea considering the hype for the fight and also the co-main event I think they'll definitely do it

 

[Joker91]

McGregor is the best thing that has happened to the UFC. Whether you love him or hate him the bloke draws attention.

 

[nobbyiscool]

McGregor is the best thing that has happened to the UFC. Whether you love him or hate him the bloke draws attention.

Really? This over the top douchebaggery - the same kind that so many mma fans bag wrestling for - is the "best thing" to have happened to mma because he draws attention?

3.5million people watch this show every night...

And yet because of her behaviour over 2 days here in Melbourne before she lost - which still don't come close to approaching the douchebaggery of McGregor - people criticise her while they cheer McGregor.

I wonder what that could possibly be about...

 

[phantom13]

Really? This over the top douchebaggery - the same kind that so many mma fans bag wrestling for - is the "best thing" to have happened to mma because he draws attention?

3.5million people watch this show every night...

And yet because of her behaviour over 2 days here in Melbourne before she lost - which still don't come close to approaching the douchebaggery of McGregor - people criticise her while they cheer McGregor.

I wonder what that could possibly be about...

People will jump on McGregor just as quick if he loses. Thats the nature of the sport. He is selling the fights and getting more eyes on the sport, love him or hate him you pay to watch him and thats all he cares about.

 

[Jab]

McGregor v Aldo, is anyone worried about cage rust with Jose? He hasnt been in the cage for over 12 months, adding to the injury last time which must have limited his training for a few months and the fact we have seen him gas in the past. I think on pure ability Jose should be favourite but with all the other factors im not so sure. Odds on my betting app have it Conor $1.55 to Jose $2.40 which seems crazy, its a 50/50 fight.
.

He doesn't fight too often anyway. twice in 2014, twice in 2013 and once in 2012 and twice in 2011. I don't think that he will suffer from ring rust, he seems like this is the least of his worries. I can see Aldo being super aggressive, I think that he will try and make a statement.

 

[Quivorir]

And I think that will be his downfall.

 

[Jab]

Quite possibly the best article about a fighter leading into a fight, it is well worth a read.

http://www.mmafighting.com/2015/11/27/9798748/the-night-we-faced-jose-aldo-ufc-194-conor-mcgregor

Faber, Mendes, Florian, Lamas, and many of the guys who have faced Aldo talking about fighting him. Some great comments about how damaging his leg kicks are

 

[BradWCE]

Yeah that's a really good article on Aldo's past opponents. Same guy did a similar article interviewing past Anderson Silva opponents a while back.

 

[Nickos66]

Yep, a quality read.

Makes you think how Connor can be spoken of as being in the same league as him. If he has a good cut and is relatively injury free he should be dominant, by all rights.

 

[BradWCE]

Something brought up in that article that's really important for the fight is how Aldo makes you fight at his pace. I think Aldo gassing has generally been exaggerated, but he certainly likes to fight at a much slower pace than McGregor. McGregor fights at a ridiculously fast pace. He might be 2nd in the UFC for the pace that he sets. Nobody fights at a quicker pace than Thomas Almeida.

If the fight stays standing for most of the bout, then the pace at which it operates will be very important. McGregor's able to fight at his usual pace, then that's bad news for Aldo. Aldo's able to slow it down to a level he's comfortable with, then it's bad news for McGregor.

Of course Aldo can attempt to slow the action by looking for takedowns. Aldo's takedowns are pretty underrated. I think looking for takedowns should be a big focus because on the feet it's pretty close either way, but on the ground Aldo should have a big edge.

Such an interesting fight.

 

[Gigantic]

We're almost there lads

Here's the extended preview

 

[the_interloper]

Yep, a quality read.

Makes you think how Connor can be spoken of as being in the same league as him. If he has a good cut and is relatively injury free he should be dominant, by all rights.

This is what I think too, to be honest there should be some easy money to be made by betting on Aldo, I don't reckon he'd have paid over $2 ever in the UFC.

 

[bkozican]

Yep, a quality read.

Makes you think how Connor can be spoken of as being in the same league as him.

The same way Sonnen got a shot at Anderson Silva