Jose Aldo's 13-second knockout defeat to Conor McGregor at UFC 194 has caused a great deal of distress in the losing fighter's native Brazil, where the media hold concerns over the new champion, whom they call a "myth."
McGregor took the UFC's featherweight championship on Saturday after disposing of Aldo in record time for a title fight. The result led Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo to proclaim the "golden years" of Brazilian mixed martial arts are over, while newspaper O Globo called the loss "a stain on the career" of Aldo (h/t Irish Independent's Declan Whooley).
BT Sport posted footage of the blow that ended Aldo's championship reign and left his Brazilian fans reeling:
If you're just waking up, the @UFC has a new Featherweight Champion! Congratulations @TheNotoriousMMA! #UFC194 https://t.co/LZHSuvAHFh
— BT Sport (@btsport) December 13, 2015
Aldo reigned undefeated in the Octagon for 10 years before McGregor blew that record away with a swift left hook that's sure to go down in the UFC's history books.
In a state of disbelief over how abruptly the fight came to an end, O Globo (via the Irish Independent) went on to elaborate upon "jester" McGregor's new status at the peak of the featherweight division, hinting he didn't deserve the victory:
"One day you're the king. Next, the jester takes his crown. The outspoken athlete [McGregor] who won more recognition from his provocations than by knockouts, will now be treated as a sport myth until the day that is defeated in the UFC."
Or perhaps it was merely that Aldo wasn't deserving of such a quick loss, considering the hype and anticipation surrounding one of the most advertised fights in UFC history, which turned into a passing of the torch.
Not all sections of the Brazilian media were as vindictive in judging McGregor's work, however, and Estado de Minas, a newspaper published in Belo Horizonte, was quicker to heap praise on the "new king" (via the Irish Independent):
"Maybe Conor McGregor said too much, but he did everything he said. Now the featherweight champion who dispatched Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds at UFC 194 in Las Vegas has demonstrated his first act as king."
Speaking to Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting after his UFC 194 triumph, McGregor described the first-round knockout as a "dream come true:"
It's true The Notorious was happy as ever to take on the role of loudmouth for much of the press tour leading up to UFC 194, but it's all the more difficult to rally against such personalities when they have results to back them up.
After a brief spell as the supposed underdog, a flurry of betting on Aldo installed the South American as the last-minute favourite heading into Saturday's fixture, per Paul Dollery of The42:
Money going on Aldo at the last minute it seems. He's now the -140 favourite with MGM. McGregor +110 #UFC194
— Paul Dollery (@PaulDollery) December 13, 2015
That late spike might have suggested the dethroned champion could prevail over the fastest-rising force the UFC has ever witnessed, but those hopes were extinguished all too quickly.
Love him or hate him, McGregor is here to stay, and while it's unknown at this point whether calls for a rematch will be answered, there's no arguing over who deserves to hold the championship belt.
