Conor McGregor says he’s in a state of Zen before facing Jose Aldo

Conor McGregor has changed the tone of his words, but not the commitment behind them.

McGregor, the brash Irishman seeking to deal Jose Aldo his first loss in more than 10 years, dissected the featherweight champion in a reserved, deliberate verbal attack during a news conference for UFC 194 on Wednesday.

“I’m in a state of Zen right now,” said McGregor, who will fight Aldo on Saturday night. “My mind is calm, composed, I am prepared and I am happy we are here.”

McGregor (18-2) gave a much more animated performance in selling a July fight against Aldo (25-1) that was postponed by the champion’s rib injury. McGregor earned an interim belt after defeating second-ranked replacement Chad Mendes in a second-round stoppage.

McGregor proved in beating Mendes that he could handle a gifted wrestler, and now he must face the UFC’s No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, a universally trained mixed martial artist from Brazil whose demeanor can be stone cold.

“What will they say after Aldo falls?” McGregor asked. “I am here to prove what I’ve been saying all these years.”

Each time McGregor finished speaking inside MGM Grand Garden Arena, the crowd would applaud, as Aldo remained expressionless with his Portuguese translator whispering into his ear.

The challenger’s attack was steady and unforgiving.

“I feel within four minutes, the shot will land,” McGregor said. “What happens after that is up to him. … I see him crumbling.”

Next: “If the fight stays on our feet, I’m going to finish him,” McGregor said. “If it goes to the ground, I’m going to finish him.

“I’ll be a ghost. He will chase me and I’ll not be there. Jose falls into the same patterns. He moves the same. He kicks and punches the same. It’s repetition. He does the same thing over and over. He’s too predictable.”

Aldo, who angrily pursued McGregor earlier this year when the Irishman snatched away the featherweight belt on the stage at a worldwide press tour, said he has tuned out the rhetoric.

“I really don’t know all what he said,” Aldo said. “I’m here to fight him, and whatever he says, it doesn’t get to me. I have faith in my coaches and trainers to go out and do the job.”

Yet, UFC President Dana White said of McGregor, “Nobody in the game is better at the mental warfare. He’s better than Ali.

“He attacks Jose Aldo all year, and today he shows up in a state of Zen? Just another part of the mind game he plays. … He physically, mentally and verbally abuses you from the time the fight is signed until the time the fight is over.”

Afterward, McGregor paused in the arena’s hall to speak to two reporters.

“There is no concern. There is clear visions of victory,” McGregor said.

“I’m going to create dead space inside that octagon. I’m going to lead him into that dead space time and time again. He’s going to fall into the dead space like a zombie, like a mummy.”

McGregor said Aldo shows signs that he has surrendered.

“I see a man who’s ready to go home,” McGregor said. “It’s hard to say it any clearer than that. He wants to go home. It’s over. He’s ready to put it in the past. I guarantee he will be smiling and happy and full of energy when the fight is done because it will be a relief off his shoulders.

“But me? It’s back to business. I want to be here. I am only warming up here.”

UFC 194

Who: Jose Aldo (25-1), Brazil, vs. Conor McGregor (18-2), Ireland, for Aldo’s featherweight title

When: Saturday, pay-per-view broadcast begins at 7 p.m. Pacific

Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas

TV: Pay-per-view, $59.99.

Undercard: Chris Weidman (13-0) vs. Luke Rockhold (14-2) for Weidman’s middleweight title; Jacare Souza vs. Yoel Romero, middleweights; Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Saenz, bantamweights

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimespugmire