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Here’s how the world reacted to Conor McGregor’s 13 second KO of Jose Aldo

CONOR McGregor’s left fist wasn’t the only thing behind his stunning win. The UFC champion was armed with a secret ingredient as well.

James MattheyJames Matthey
@jamesmatthey
5 min read
December 14, 2015 - 8:38AM
Conor McGregor reacts after defeating Jose Aldo during a featherweight championship mixed martial arts bout at UFC 194, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Conor McGregor reacts after defeating Jose Aldo during a featherweight championship mixed martial arts bout at UFC 194, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

WELL, that was unexpected.

The biggest fight in UFC history was also the fastest title fight ever, as Conor McGregor knocked Jose Aldo to the canvas with one punch inside 13 seconds.

The Irishman’s left hook ended the fight in brutal fashion, and the world was left marvelling at the drama it had just witnessed. Here’s how everyone reacted.

THE MEN THEMSELVES — MCGREGOR’S SECRET WEAPON

IF there’s one thing Conor McGregor doesn’t lack, it’s confidence, and he let the world know that no matter how good Jose Aldo was, he was always going to be better.

“Nobody can take that left hand shot,” McGregor said after the fight.

“He’s powerful, he’s fast. But precision beats power and timing beats speed and that’s what you saw there.

“I feel for Jose, he was a phenomenal champion. We deserved to go a lot longer, but I still feel at the end of the day precision beats power and timing beats speed every day of the week so it would’ve happened sooner rather than later.”

With an Irish flag draped across his shoulders, the victory was clearly something special for the whole country, not just McGregor himself.

But while it was his left fist that did the damage to Aldo, McGregor revealed the most important move he made in claiming the featherweight title happened well before he even stepped into the Octagon.

It wasn’t to do with becoming stronger or hitting harder. Rather, it was all about preparing in a way to make sure he was as fresh as possible during one of the most stressful periods of his life.

He said working with movement coach Ido Portal was key to giving him the best chance to beat the Brazilian.

“We brought in Mr Ido Portal this week for fight week ... we trained for a couple of days which was perfect because the hard training is about entering the contest fresh, your body supple and free,” said McGregor.

“Fight week is already a stressful week, there’s already a lot of struggle, so you must make it as least amount of that as possible. Bringing in Ido was phenomenal. It re-centred the mind, it changed the training. It was movement based, there was no contact.”

The Irishman said the most important impact this had wasn’t necessarily just on his physical state, but on his mind.

“I’ve always been fascinated by movement, I always look at people that can move in unusual ways and who have complete control of their frame. I don’t just see them as having control of their body and frame, but they have control over their mind.

“When I woke up today I didn’t wake up with my brain telling me my foot was sore ... this time I woke up and there was absolutely nothing wrong. I felt free. I felt in control and free.”

The importance of training like this wasn’t lost on former MMA fighter Nick Newell.

Speaking on the prospect of changing divisions and fighting as a lightweight, McGregor made sure nobody was in any doubt as to what would happen with his title belt if that were to happen.

“If I go to the lightweight division there’s no way in hell I’m vacating my belt,” he said.

“I will be a dual world champion ... there’s no vacating, that’s not happening.”

Jose Aldo, who had not been beaten in a decade, had a simple explanation for what happened inside the Octagon. But he was already looking towards the future.

“He threw a cross on my chest which I wasn’t expecting and I threw a punch and he came back with another cross and that was that,” Aldo said.

“I think we need a rematch because that was not really a fight, so we need to get back in here. “We’re going to have to come back in here.”

But while Aldo’s words suggested he was planning ahead, the pain of what occurred clearly cut him deep as a photo showed him sitting on the floor, head in hands and surrounded by his team.

OTHER FIGHTERS

THOSE in the UFC world lucky enough to be in front of a TV or in the stands rather than on the receiving end of McGregor’s left fist were in awe of what the 27-year-old Irishman had just accomplished.

THE MEDIA

THE media both in Ireland and around the world was left writing its articles in awe of McGregor as he provided the sport with a moment that will be talked about for years to come.

Writing for Irish publication the Independent, Joe Callaghan said McGregor was now bigger than the sport itself.

“He left the history of his sport in his wake,” wrote Callaghan.

“You sense McGregor has now truly transcended the sport to such a degree that it will be his decision what happens from here. On the UFC’s biggest ever week, its true star outshone all the rest.

“The McGregor Show, after its most sensational episode yet, is the only show in town.”

The Irish Times said the stunning victory was just another chapter in the legend that is Conor McGregor.

“It was a fight. And it was perfect. Not simply in its execution but in that it adds so much to the McGregor lore. Thirteen seconds. Against a man who hadn’t lost in over a decade. Yes, that happened.”

The Bleacher Report’s senior MMA columnist Mike Chiappetta thought McGregor’s most impressive achievement wasn’t just that he threw such an effective left hook, but that he threw it under such immense pressure.

There wasn’t enough time to take many action shots of this fight.
There wasn’t enough time to take many action shots of this fight.

“The extra pressure he placed upon himself would have crushed most,” wrote Chiappetta.

“It is difficult to quantify how much extra stress he put upon his journey by being so vocal about his perceived place in the fight world. He had much of it plotting his demise, sending private little hexes his way, and sometimes openly cursing him. The attention at times had to be crushing.

“But for McGregor, his words were never a prediction. They were a vow. And on Saturday, at UFC 194, he delivered what he had always promised: UFC gold.

“One thing is clear: It’s McGregor’s world now.”

MMA website Bloody Elbow’s Tim Burke said the performance by the man from the Emerald Isle would be the catalyst for the sport to undergo significant change.

“If UFC 193 wasn’t enough to usher in a new era for the promotion, UFC 194 certainly was. Things will never be the same,” Burke said.

SOCIAL MEDIA

AS was to be expected, social media went into meltdown following the incredible fight. Celebrities and fans that managed to catch all 13 seconds of the title bout were left wiping their eyes in disbelief.

Originally published as Here’s how the world reacted to Conor McGregor’s 13 second KO of Jose Aldo

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/heres-how-the-world-reacted-to-conor-mcgregors-13-second-ko-of-jose-aldo/news-story/d0f505433a1e576337f0ea104738e7d0