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McGregor Stands Between Aldo and Infamy

Although Aldo is one of the best-loved fighters as far as diehard MMA fans are concerned, a win over McGregor would introduce him to the cultural pour over that the Irishman has spearheaded in his home county and beyond.
Photo by Rob Stothard/Zuffa LLC

Jose Aldo has more fans than ever ahead of UFC 194 and the main reason for that is the man that will stand across the Octagon from him on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Conor McGregor.

We know that the outspoken Irishman has a massive fan base due to the infamous night in Dublin last July where he made his homecoming as a UFC fighter and from the amorphous amount of Irish fans that travelled to Sin City in July of this year. Dana White later claimed that McGregor's Irish support had a $200 million impact on Vegas during the UFC 189 fight week, which only speaks for the volume of people who descend on the 'Fight Capital of the World' when the Dubliner goes about his business.

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However, the inflammatory nature of McGregor has brought a lot of detractors to the forefront, even in the home country of 'The Notorious', who will be hoping that the Brazilian featherweight kingpin can defend his belt for the eighth time.

Aldo has proven himself as a main event attraction in Brazil as he has headlined three UFC cards during his reign at the top of the featherweight division in his homeland. However, the only time he got the top spot on a US card in the past was when he defended his title against the former lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar–an indication of how little interest there has been in Aldo's bouts up until this point.

Saturday will mark the second numbered event that McGregor has taken center stage at. Even when Aldo pulled out of their meeting at UFC 189, McGregor was given the headline bout for an interim title despite Robbie Lawler defending his welterweight strap against Rory MacDonald on the same night. The fact that Chris Weidman will defend his middleweight title in the co-main event on Saturday night is further proof that McGregor is very good for business.

With his dance partner being one of the main draws on the UFC roster, Aldo seems to be quite aware that he can harness a whole new fan base with a victory on Saturday night.

"I think the reason that I don't fight as often is because I'm involved in big fights, so this is another chance for the fans that don't know me to be able to watch and get to know my work," Aldo said through a translator on last weekend's conference call.

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"I think every fight the biggest fight of my career, always the next one is the biggest one, so I'm looking at this one as the biggest fight in my career because it's the next one."

Interestingly, before leaving for Vegas, Aldo declared that the McGregor bout was "the most personal" of his career in an interview posted by Sherdog. This only bolstered the hopes of McGregor's Green Army who felt that the Irishman's antics would make the undisputed champion fight with a lot more emotion when the two finally met.

However, by the time the conference call came around for the event, Aldo was adamant that his meeting with 'The Notorious' was no different than any other bout that he had contested as champion.

"There's really no difference," he said when asked about his bout with his Irish rival. "You're going to see me go in there and get the win, and I don't really care how I win, I care about winning. Really the only difference is I always beat Americans and this time I'm going to beat an Irishman."

"It really doesn't matter to me if he underestimates me. I train for myself, I fight for myself, so whatever he thinks or anyone else doesn't matter at all to me. I'm going to go in there and win, which is what I always do.

"To me he's just the same. I've fought a lot of the top fighters out there, and to me he's really just another opponent that I have to go in there and beat"

When asked was he angry with McGregor, the champion added: "I mean, the guy's working for me. He's basically making me money so how could I be angry with him? You know, I think he did very good for the weight class so I'm happy with that."

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Despite the back and forth that the MMA world has enjoyed between the two for the last 11 months, both Aldo and McGregor sid they would shake hands when everything is all said and done.

"I see no problem in that," Aldo said when asked about a handshake between the championship pairing after the bout. "I'm really thinking of the fight right now, but after the fight's over I see no problem in shaking his hand.

"You know, we're going to have to see how the fight plays out, but I'm going to be there working as well as he's going to be in there working and everyone else is, so I don't see a problem with that."

Already we have seen Holy holm's star rise astronomically on the back of her emphatic win over Ronda Rousey at UFC 193. However, it's unlikely that we will see the Brazilian on a chat show tour should he beat McGregor given that he cannot speak English.

Although the featherweight kingpin is a far more established name and one of the best-loved fighters as far as diehard MMA fans are concerned, a win over McGregor would certainly introduce him to the cultural pour over that the Irishman has spearheaded in his home county and beyond.