Conor McGregor takes little time in win over Jose Aldo at UFC 194
Conor McGregor, left, knocked out Jose Aldo with his first punch at UFC 194 in Las Vegas to claim the featherweight title on Dec. 12.
All of those words by Conor McGregor needed so little action for reinforcement Saturday.
The bold Irishman met unbeaten-in-10-years Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion Jose Aldo in the middle of the octagon, slipped a punch and delivered a crushing left-handed blow to the Brazilian’s jaw.
“Nobody can take my left-handed shot,” McGregor said.
Aldo (25-2) dropped to the canvas on McGregor’s first punch. McGregor pounced and hammered Aldo’s face with two more lefts before referee John McCarthy awarded him the technical knockout victory 13 seconds into the first round.
“He’s powerful and fast, but precision beats power and timing beats speed,” McGregor said, his countrymen inside MGM Grand roaring. “We did it!”
“He threw a cross to my face which I was not expecting,” Aldo said. “I deserve a rematch. It really wasn’t much of a fight.”
Aldo was subjected to an onslaught of the colorful Irishman’s taunts for months before the fight.
“It didn’t affect me at all … we’ll have to come back,” Aldo said.
In the co-main event, Luke Rockhold kept nodding no to Chris Weidman, telling him the best punches and kicks weren’t affecting him.
Rockhold then made Weidman’s own head move back and forth, repeatedly rocking him with an onslaught of punches after mounting Weidman on the canvas late in the third round.
At the 3:12 mark of the fourth round, Rockhold did it again, battering Weidman’s head against the cage with four right-handed punches that convinced referee Herb Dean to step in and award a technical-knockout victory and the UFC middleweight champion at MGM Grand.
“It’s unreal. I can’t even believe this is real,” Rockhold said. “I’m operating at a different level.”
Weidman’s first loss was set up by his flawed decision to try a spinning back kick. He missed it and Rockhold took him down, setting up the attack.
“That wasn’t the smartest move,” Weidman (13-1) said after, his forehead and right cheek bloodied.
Rockhold’s thunderous attack was so brutal it appeared Dean had stopped the fight at what was instead the bell ending the third round.
“I was hoping he would [stop it],” Rockhold said. “I kind of thought he stopped it … whatever, all that matters is that I got the belt.”
Weidman scored two first-round takedowns in the first minutes of the fight, then endured a lengthy chokehold.
Rockhold (15-2) landed a hurtful punch early in the second, Weidman’s fatigue revealed as he breathed with an open mouth.
Good left kicks by Rockhold kept Weidman away. When Weidman landed a good right body kick, the confident Rockhold smiled and responded with a hard left hand to the jaw.
Up next for the winner probably will be third-ranked Yoel Romero, who won a split decision over No. 2 Jacare Souza that the crowd questioned.
Cuba’s Romero (11-1) ruled the first round by dropping Souza with a backhanded punch. Romero then landed hard punches and elbows to Souza’s head, leaving the former Strikeforce champion woozy at round’s end.
The second round was an even affair and Romero skirted a near one-point deduction after holding onto the cage with his right hand.
Souza (22-4) landed big rights and notched a takedown in the third, leaving Romero reeling and stunned by three Souza rights to the face on the canvas, but the judges gave Romero the nod by scores of 29-27, 28-29 and 29-28.
“I have big respect for this guy [but] know I win,” Romero said. “You know when you’re doing it if you lose or you win. I am ready for anybody.”
Follow Lance Pugmire on Twitter @latimespugmire
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