FW title win: McGregor or Topuria?

[TimeToTrain]

Which title win was more legendary between McGregor/Aldo or Topuria/Volk?

I think Conor made more noise and sold the fight well, talked the talk and walked the walk. He kept his word by saying he would KO Aldo in the first round.

From a competitive level, I’d also say Aldo at that moment was more in his prime than Volk especially considering how Volk came off a KO loss from Islam. Not saying that Volk isn’t in his prime still, but to come back from a KO loss and to defend your title is mentally and emotionally challenging.

All in all, the pressure was on both Aldo and Volk. Conor got into Aldo’s head and it showed. Volk’s mental state was not looking to get KO’ed again.

And although Topuria was invited to a European football match as an introduction, as big as that was, Conor’s aura at that time was everywhere.

Conor’s quick KO finish to Aldo was one of the best, if not the best title victory in history.

 

[Davidjacksonjones]

Both exceptional wins.
But I gotta go with Conor
Jose Aldo was unbeaten for over a decade, was seen as the unbeatable FW GOAT and was starched in 13 fucking seconds. Aldo was also like 28 at the time

Beating Volk is also insanely impressive,as he was never beaten at FW before. But, Volk did get knocked out very recently with Islam, plus he was over 35 as well, and guys that age don't do well in title fights at all

 

[Fight Professor]

Conor for sure.

 

[Snake Fist]

If Volk wasn't KO'd in his previous fight against Islam then it would be much closer, so it goes to Conor hands down.

Out of the 2 that lost the belt and who would be the more deserving of a rematch, that goes to Aldo hands down.

 

[tat2man5k]

As annoyed as I was, and maybe still am all these years later, Conor waxing Aldo that quickly was more impressive to me.

 

[Leinster Rugby]

love or hate McGregor and most people justifiably hate him, you cant deny the momentousness and significance of the aldo KO and the manner in which it was done. 13 fookin seconds...

 

[loisestrad]

Conor got into Aldo’s head and it showed.

That's a popular narrative: "Conor beat Aldo by getting into his head".

He didn't though. He beat him by figuring Aldo out, fight wise. It was a perfect example of someone (and his team) taking their time to figure out what was the perfect gameplan and executing it perfectly.

 

[humperdoo]

Volk lost twice before Tuporia's fight, I guess that makes it not very interesting to some.

 

[OldBoy91]

Conor levelling Aldo with his first punch thrown is top, and it isn't particularly close for a number of reasons

People seem to have mostly forgotten now, but Aldo at the time wasn't just the consensus FW GOAT. He was up there with GSP, Anderson, Jones and Fedor in the overall GOAT discussion.

He was 28 years old, in the midst of his prime for that weightclass, unbeaten for a decade. Beaten all comers, some of them multiple times.

Whereas Volk was 35, ancient by featherweight champion standards, lost 2 of his last 3 fights, and was coming off a nasty KO defeat just a few months earlier. And Volk won the first round against Topuria.

Conor's performance against Aldo was pretty much flawless.

 

[GordonMMARamsey]

I hate Conor, but that KO is one of the most memorable KO's in UFC history.

 

[jx820]

I don't see this as even being very close. Conor putting Aldo away in basically the first exchange was one of the most shocking title wins ever.

 

[Corrado Soprano]

I feel like both wins are overrated. Aldo & Volk were both clearly winning the fights until they got caught.

 

[jitzmonkey]

That's a popular narrative: "Conor beat Aldo by getting into his head".

He didn't though. He beat him by figuring Aldo out, fight wise. It was a perfect example of someone (and his team) taking their time to figure out what was the perfect gameplan and executing it perfectly.

Bingo!
He literally egged, prodded, etc... Aldo into fighting recklessly.

While we'll never really know if the outcome would've been any different, the fact that Aldo immediately ran in hands down directly at the best straight puncher (at the time?) in MMA was one of the worst strategies/approaches that anyone could have possibly come up with.

And for the 1,000th time w/o anyone referencing it:
I'll point out that the left hook that Aldo landed on Conor's right eye while the champ was falling forward from already having been starched cut Conor's eye.
That shot would've been significantly worse had Aldo been conscious when he landed it.

Kudos to Conor on that one for staying so composed and focused considering the shot that he ended up taking.

**That makes both KOs super close in retrospect; but still gotta go with the Irishman.

 

[tymikeson]

aldo was in the prime of his career

volk was damaged goods

 

[Elvis.]

Aldo hadn’t lost a fight in 10 years , and Conor basically did this to him


It felt pretty surreal in the moment

 

[HatKick]

Topuria's KO was great but Conor's was legendary.

 

[Cazador Diurno]

Conor but Ilyas was amazing too

 

[StonedLemur]

That's a popular narrative: "Conor beat Aldo by getting into his head".

He didn't though. He beat him by figuring Aldo out, fight wise. It was a perfect example of someone (and his team) taking their time to figure out what was the perfect gameplan and executing it perfectly.

Yeah, and the worldwide press tour where Conor talked shit for an entire year had no bearing on Aldo's emotional state.

The whole time Dana is laughin it up with Conor like 2 schoolyard bullies.

Yes, im sure that had nothing to do with Aldo rushing in like that...smh.

 

[FlyingDeathKick]

Yeah, and the worldwide press tour where Conor talked shit for an entire year had no bearing on Aldo's emotional state.

The whole time Dana is laughin it up with Conor like 2 schoolyard bullies.

Yes, im sure that had nothing to do with Aldo rushing in like that...smh.

Conor was definitely in his head. I remember somebody saying they were trying to get Aldo used to the trash talk and he would go nuts anytime they would talk trash while sparring Aldo. Think it was one of his training partners but he also claimed that he got used to it and with the double training camps it no longer effected him.

To me even just hearing that Aldo would get realy pissed off at a training partner trying to emulate Conor and talk shit just kind of proves how easy it was to get on his head and I think pulling out only made it worse because then he had to deal with Conor calling him a pussy and saying he tore his vagina lol.

At the end of the day tho I honestly believe Conor would never be an easy matchup for Aldo because he's a precision striker with decent power. I think Aldo was a bit lucky to have mostly faced grapplers, his god tier tdd and good striking made him unbeatable until he had to face guys like Conor and Max.

Should have lasted much longer than 13 seconds tho.

 

[sdpdude9]

Not a McGregor fan and hate how it happened as a big Aldo fan. But that win is one of the most legendary of all time. All the build up and then he sparks the longtime champion with the first punch. Doesn’t get much better than that.