B/R MMA Roundtable: Did Conor McGregor Cheat Us out of a Great Fight at UFC 194?

All of Conor McGregor's talk turned to action on Saturday night at UFC 194, but not very much action. In just 13 seconds, the Irish striker floored the long-reigning Jose Aldo with a left hand and forced a referee stoppage. While fans, media, fighters and promoters were unanimously shocked by how it played out, the second wave of emotion was different from person to person.

For some, it was a joyous moment, with an electrifying figure getting officially crowned as the best in the business. For others, it was heart-wrenching, as a long-time standard of excellence was unceremoniously dispatched after finally gaining mainstream recognition.

For another group, it was a disappointment. What was supposed to be one of the most tantalizing fights in MMA history, was ended before it began. All those press conferences, all those fan Q&A sessions, all those hours of promotional materials...all for just 13 seconds of fighting.

It's a strange situation with lots of conflicting feelings, but the Bleacher Report MMA team is here to discuss how they feel about the before, during and after of McGregor vs. Aldo.

Steven Rondina

 I can appreciate a fast knockout. Heck, back when Ronda Rousey was still keeping her waist warm with UFC gold, I played the "how long will this one last?" game just like everyone else. But there's a time and a place for that, and it wasn't here.

Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor wasn't a sheep being thrown into a cage with a lion. Or at least, it wasn't supposed to be. Aldo vs. McGregor was supposed to be a battle of wits and wills: a man who wanted nothing more than to be champion, against a man who wanted nothing more than to stay champion. Instead, an 11-month build lead to a measly three punches.

Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy with a McGregor title reign...but I didn't want it to start like this!

Patrick Wyman

From the perspective of action, I certainly would've liked to see more of what both fighters are capable of doing in the cage. Could Aldo's cardio hold up? Could he get McGregor to the mat? How would Aldo deal with McGregor's pressure game? This was a compelling matchup of two elite featherweights, and regardless of a 13-second knockout, it still is if they rematch down the road. I do feel a bit cheated in that regard.

Neither man showed weakness before this fight, making the result an absolute shock.

From a narrative perspective, however, absolutely not. This was the perfect fulfillment of every angle McGregor has spun for himself since he first walked into the Octagon in 2013. He's too big, too powerful, too precise and too clean for his opponents, even the greatest featherweight to ever lace up a pair of gloves. McGregor lived up to his trash talk in prophetic fashion.

Jonathan Snowden

When I was 13 years old my buddy Mattie Walker and I scraped together $34.95 for what was supposed to be the event of a lifetime. Mike Tyson. Michael Spinks. The heavyweight championship of the world.

It may not sound like much now. But for a seventh grader in 1988, almost $40 was a formidable sum. Meaning this wasn't a decision we made lightly. It's just that it was simply unthinkable that we could spend even a moment not knowing if Tyson was really the demigod we'd built up in our collective imaginations.

Strong comparisons can be made between Aldo vs. McGregor and Tyson vs. Spinks.

Tyson, on that night at least, was everything he was supposed to be. Like Conor McGregor he backed up every word of tough talk, justified the butterflies he manufactured every time he made that long walk to the ring.

It was only later that a sense of emptiness settled on us. Was that all? We had paid nearly 30 cents a second for just a moment's satisfaction. Today it's one of my fondest combat sports memories. But I can understand if there is someone out there saying "is that all there is?"

Nathan McCarter

My opinion on this matter is likely skewed by the fact I was there live. No matter if you're a fan, fighter, media or event worker there is something special about being at a sporting event live that just makes it so much better. The atmosphere was electric all night, and the entrances alone gave me goosebumps.

The emotional reaction of the crowd at the finish was phenomenal. Those are things you don't feel when watching on pay-per-view. Of course I wish it had lasted longer, but I didn't feel cheated by the one-punch KO that gave us a moment on the highlight reel from here to eternity. That finish was something of lore, and something McGregor predicted. Over time that will only grow, and I can't be upset about seeing a special moment in MMA history no matter how quick.

Jeremy Botter

When the knockout happened last night, I kinda just stared into the distance for a few minutes. Maybe more. Mostly, I couldn't believe that it happened the way it happened, and it took awhile for me to process.

When I regained my bearings, I started to think about how it was unfortunate that after an eternity of building to this massive super fight, it was over in the blink of an eye. I'd wanted to see a fight of the year contender. I predicted it would be a thrilling, evenly-matched bout with the winner barely edging out his opponent. And I guess I wanted to see that because, after all this time, I felt like it's what we needed.

I still feel that way. I don't believe UFC 194 proved that Conor McGregor is better at fighting than Jose Aldo. I think it proved that McGregor, with all his bluster, was able to get into Aldo's head and make him careless. Never before have we seen Aldo do anything like this, at least not since his double flying knee knockout of Cub Swanson back in the WEC days. And it proved, of course, that McGregor's left hand is one of the deadliest weapons in this sport.

I wanted to see more. But at the same time, I can't help but think that this was a fitting end. McGregor did exactly what he said he was going to do, and he did it even quicker than he'd predicted. As the cap to a story, it was perfect. 

Sydnie Jones

On one hand, we didn't get the chance to see what Jose Aldo could do to Conor McGregor, and after waiting for so long, I felt a degree of deflation that it ended so quickly. Aldo hadn't fought in more than a year and the acrimony, as much as Aldo denied it, seemed real enough to me. So I was looking forward to an aggressive, offensive Aldo who wanted to teach McGregor a lesson. Maybe we got that, and it just didn't have the opportunity to bloom.

On the other hand, McGregor predicted Aldo's right hand would get him into trouble, and then he knocked him out by capitalizing on it. If we watched UFC 194 to see a battle of skill between strategists, it's hard to argue that it didn't deliver. One punch from McGregor, thrown at precisely the right time to exactly the right spot, and that was it. That's stunning.

I don't believe this negates Aldo's potential to stymie McGregor, but I also don't believe the knock-out was a fluke. I didn't have many expectations about what would happen in the fight, and among the outcomes I considered, a fast KO (for either) crossed my mind. I don't feel cheated, exactly. I would have liked to have seen more, but investment in a card doesn't guarantee anything. Expectations are understandable, but so routinely obliterated in unexpected ways that if I have them at all, I don't get especially attached to them. So the fight didn't fail to meet some minimum of time/action/competitiveness I might've assumed it would have.

Also, while the fight may not have delivered in terms of length, it was an undeniably historic moment for the sport, and it's hard to feel cheated after witnessing it live.

Mike Chiappetta

What exactly are you owed when you plunk down your money and invest your time? The answer is an honest effort. No more, no less. We are often spoiled by the herculean efforts before us, but that is only one attraction of prizefighting. Another one is the sudden-ending nature of it. Football and baseball offer artificial fairness; everyone gets a chance based upon time or innings, paces themselves accordingly, and sharpens their focus as the end nears.

Fighters are never afforded that luxury. The end is always nearing. Aldo is one of the most decorated champions we have witnessed, yet even he is not immune to this truth. In some ways, this kind of ending is exactly what we pay for. We want to live on the edge of our seats, waiting to witness the unexpected, the seemingly impossible.

I truly could not understand why anyone would leave UFC 194 feeling cheated. I can't imagine leaving the arena or turning off the television without feeling stunned, without your emotions roiling below the surface. That's exactly what we pay for, isn't it? That indescribable buzz that only comes from shocking the system was delivered last night in one electric jolt.