Jose Aldo: I Already Know What I’m Going To Do To Conor McGregor
After he earned an anticipated featherweight title shot last night (Sun., January 18, 2015) by defeating Dennis Siver in the main event of UFC Fight Night 59 (watch highlights here) from Boston, Massachusetts, Conor McGregor rushed into the crowd to get in the face of champion Jose Aldo, a move that only elicited a smile from the longtime divisional ruler.
After the scene, Octagon announcer Joe Rogan met up with Aldo and his translator to get “Junior’s” take on the situation. Check out the interview from UFC on FOX right here:
According to Aldo, McGregor’s antics are nothing but a joke, so he treats them as such:
“It’s normal to me. He’s just a court jester and joker to me, so I just laugh at him.”
But even though he may not take McGregor’s actions seriously, he does accept that the Irish star has brought much positive attention to the featherweight division, and he believes their match-up will be the biggest fight the UFC 145-pound arena has ever seen:
“I think it’s great; I think it’s great for the UFC, I think it’s great for the class. I definitely think it’s the biggest fight that the class will ever see, and I can’t wait to fight him.”
Despite McGregor’s deafening impact on the division, however, Aldo ultimately isn’t impressed by his skills. He gave him credit for beating a seasoned fighter, but noted that he’s fought much better during his illustrious reign as champ. At the end of the day, the surgically precise and powerful Aldo already knows what he’s going to do to McGregor:
“No, no, no, I’m not impressed, he called the fight in two minutes, it took actually over a round. You know, Dennis Siver is a seasoned fighter, but not the caliber as I’ve fought before, so no, I’m not impressed. With my coaches and with my team, I know what I’m going to do to him.”
Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, who dropped a close decision to Aldo for the belt back at UFC 156, appeared on UFC on FOX to chime in on McGregor’s affect on the division. While “The Answer” thanked him for bringing attention, he still believes that “Notorious” is taking on a tall order in Aldo:
“You know, McGregor definitely brought a lot of attention to this division, which we gotta thank him for that. He’s going into this title fight pretty confident. I know he’s kind of made quick work of everyone he’s fought, but he’s fighting Jose Aldo, who’s been the champion for quite a long time. You know, he’s saying he’s going to finish him; that’s a tall order.”
Seemingly passed over for a second title shot after he bludgeoned formerly surging Cub Swanson at last November’s UFC Fight Night 57, Edgar gave his opinion that Aldo will come in motivated and defeat McGregor:
“I think Aldo’s going to come in pretty motivated, too. I think in some past fights with Aldo we’ve seen him a little under motivated. I think this fight he’s going to come in motivated. I don’t think he’s (McGregor) going to get it done.”
Overall, Edgar knows the build-up to the fight will be momentous regardless of if McGregor wins or loses:
“I know it’s going to be exciting. Even if he doesn’t get it done, I know there’s going to be a lot of antics leading up to it.”
So McGregor’s closest rivals have spoken up on his perceived chances to knock off Aldo, and not surprisingly, they don’t believe he’ll be able to beat the dominant Aldo. Do you?
Photo Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
