UFC president Dana White has admitted he's finding it tough to pick a winner between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor as hype continues to build ahead of the pair squaring off in the Octagon in December.
The fierce rivals are set to fight at UFC 194 for the featherweight championship, and White was asked his opinion on who he thinks will win the bout. But when pressed to give a prediction, he sat firmly on the fence, per Brad Popkin of MMAMania.com:
We have to get both those guys there and get this fight on. Aldo is so talented, I just said I think he's the pound-for-pound best. He hasn't lost in 10 years. McGregor is such a beast; he hits so hard and he comes forward. Everybody here, as fight fans, you know that the Irish are going to be there; there's going to be Brazilians there. It's going to be f----g crazy in that arena; just the energy and the buzz is going to be nuts.
My prediction is—I don't know what's going to happen. If I knew what was going to happen, I'd be Vince McMahon. I don't know what's going to happen.
There’s been plenty of bad blood between the duo in the build-up to this rescheduled bout, and after McGregor’s win over Chad Mendes last time out, those who had Aldo as a big favourite are in shorter supply. After all, there were doubts about whether McGregor could handle the pressure of being in such a high-profile main event.
But the Irishman served up an emphatic reminder of his power against Mendes, knocking him down with a thunderous left hand in Round 2. Aldo, as talented as he may be, will need to ensure he isn't on the end of one of those punches.
However, the Brazilian, who pulled out of the initial bout due to injury, is certainly a top-class operator. As reported here by Chamatkar Sandhu of MMA Junkie, the two men are rated among the greatest fighters in any weight class on the planet:
Demetrious Johnson has moved up to #2 on the UFC pound for pound rankings. pic.twitter.com/jpYXnB3QyR
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) September 8, 2015
White was in Australia to promote the upcoming showdown between Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm at UFC 193, an event which could see 70,000 pack out the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, per the Herald Sun. It’d be the biggest crowd ever for a UFC showpiece.
Aldo-McGregor is another landmark occasion for UFC. The rescheduling of the fight and the continued animosity between the pair has made this one arguably the most hotly anticipated showdown in the sport's history. The standard of the two competitors makes it a tough one to call, as White alludes to, but it's an occasion that's simply not to be missed.
