– Paul Dollery reports from Las Vegas
CONOR McGREGOR BELIEVES that victory at UFC 194 will prove that he’s the best fighter in the world, and that this should be reflected in the rankings.
McGregor, the UFC’s interim featherweight title-holder, will face reigning 145lbs champion Jose Aldo on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Aldo, who hasn’t tasted defeat in over 10 years, will be putting his status as the only undisputed UFC featherweight champion in history, as well as his ranking as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, on the line in the UFC 194 main event.
Speaking at last night’s pre-fight press conference, a relaxed McGregor — who sits in 12th place in the pound-for-pound rankings — said: “He [Aldo] is currently the pound-for-pound number one fighter on the roster. I have been telling people that I am currently the pound-for-pound number one fighter on the planet.
“The pound-for-pound number one slot is up for grabs here. This is a contest for that number one spot. Like I said, I am a man with a point to prove. I will go out and I will prove it.”
In spite of Jose Aldo’s dominance of MMA’s featherweight division over the course of his 15-fight tenure with the WEC and UFC, McGregor has been installed as the favourite by most bookmakers. According to the Dubliner, the bookies will be proved right.
“I certainly feel like the favourite,” McGregor said. “I carry myself like the favourite. Since I came in here [the UFC] I carried myself like a world champion because when I came in here I was a dual-weight [Cage Warriors] world champion. I give that off, I go in and I perform and the odds match how I feel.”
When asked if Saturday’s fight will provide his toughest test to date, McGregor said: “It’s only as tough as you make it and I have been making them pretty easy for myself, I feel. This one will be a spectacle. This one will be a masterclass. This one will be a changing of the guard; me bringing in a new era in fighting, in approach, in everything.
“I am a man with something to prove and a man with something to prove is a dangerous individual. But at the same time, I am calm. I will go in calm, dangerous and look to show the world the new age.”
As for his prediction for the fight, McGregor reiterated his belief that he’ll only need one round to finish the job, take his record to 19-2 and confirm his status as the undisputed UFC featherweight world champion.
“I feel within four minutes the shots will have landed. It’s on him after that. I feel anything after that four-minute mark of the first round will be a formality. It will be on him; where he is mentally, where he is physically and how much he truly wants this.
“I see him crumbling towards the end of the first [round] or not answering the bell for the second. But it will be wrapped up inside one.”
McGregor added: “I visualise entering the contest unpredictable. I will pressure him. I will evade him. I will strike him with every limb. The knee. The heel. The fist. The elbow.
“I will be a ghost in there. He will think I’m there… and then I am not there. He will think I’m not there… and then I am there. I am going to put on a masterpiece for this fight. This will prove my point; that I am the number one.”
