UFC 189

I agree on the stoppage. Good stoppage, even though I think Mendes could've survived the round. That short notice scenario was not in his favor at all. Still doesn't take away from McGregor's performance in a fight he really couldn't afford to lose.

McGregor's approach to the striking aspect reminds me of Machida pre Shogun 1, when he was referred to as the rubrics cube. His distance control is stellar and he is very good at mixing up blitzes by throwing side kicks and hook kicks to set up his punches. And with that kind of accuracy, its not hard to be successful.

That being said, I'm personally getting tired of his shtick and Dana's shameless favoritism toward him. No fighter has ever been given a king's welcome or tailored opponents like he has. Not even Brock, who was a proven money maker. Two incidents really soured me on this guy.

1. The Dublin press conference. Him snatching Aldo's belt and holding it up like a bully was very tasteless and disrespectful. What was even more tasteless was Dana holding Aldo back, yet letting McGregor parade around with the title makes me think it was all done by design. Clearly Dana plays by a different set of rules with him.

2. Those Vegas strip commercials hyping the fight. They made Aldo, who is 25-1 and the number 1 pound for pound fighter in the world (MMAJunkie ranks him 2, but Jon Jones is inactive for the forseeable future) look like a damn joke. I understand the need to sell McGregor as a threat, but not at the expense of one of your most consistently dominant fighters.

How do I think the actual fight will go? I still favor Aldo because he is more of a kickboxer than Mendes and his grappling is a different kind of imposing. Watch his fights with Faber and Mike Brown. He got those guys on the mat and they didn't get up. That crucifix he trapped Faber in was scary.