With UFC 194 fast approaching, and us being a site that likes to give you content, here’s some more! 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Aldo vs. McGregor!! (Plus, this doubles as the return of our semi-regular TOP TEN TUESDAY feature.)
1. Jose Aldo has not lost a fight since 2005. At that time, Matt Hughes, Rich Franklin, and Chuck Liddell were UFC Champions. That was a long time ago.
2. You would never know it from watching his fights, but Aldo has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, under legendary instructor Andre Pederneiras.
3. Conor McGregor’s main event fight against Chad Mendes, at UFC 189 in July, drew 825,000 buys. Aldo’s last three pay-per-view main events together brought in 690,000 buys total.
4. Before signing with the UFC, McGregor was a dual champion in Cage Warriors. He held their Featherweight and Lightweight Championships at the same time.
5. McGregor is the most famous and successful UFC fighter born in Ireland, but Tom Egan was actually the first Irishman to fight in the Octagon. Egan made his UFC debut in January, 2009.
6. In 2010, World Exteme Cagefighting aired its only pay-per-view. The show was headlined by Aldo defending his WEC Featherweight title against Urijah Faber. Aldo won the fight by unanimous decision, making his leg kicks count.
7. Aldo was the first Featherweight Champ in UFC history. He is also the only Featherweight Champ in UFC history.
8. John McCarthy is the referee assigned to the Aldo-McGregor fight on Saturday. McCarthy reffed his first UFC fight on March 11, 1994. Aldo was 7; McGregor was 5.
9. McGregor fought Max Holloway, who is currently ranked 5th in the Featherweight division, with a torn ACL, strained MCL, and a posterior horn meniscal tear. His knee blew out mid-way through the fight, back in August of 2013. Despite the injury, McGregor won the fight by unanimous decision and it wasn’t all that competitive.
10. McGregor’s last five fights have gone a total of 37 minutes, 42 seconds. Aldo’s last five went 96 minutes, 59 seconds. That’s nearly an hour more of cage time for Aldo.
And don’t forget, all month long we’ll be featuring our 27 UFC Gifts for the Fight Fan in your life post just for you so you can make Christmas easier on yourself while also being a hero!
