The flyweight champion thinks that Conor McGregor is an extremely bad match up for Jose Aldo.
Demetrious Johnson shared his thoughts on the upcoming featherweight title unification bout while promoting his title defence against John Dodson at UFC 191.
“I’m worried about Aldo. It’s a tough fight. Aldo is a different beast, but we’ve never seen Aldo fight somebody who comes forward. Everything changes [when an opponent comes forward].”
Johnson reckons that the featherweight king has never faced an opponent with the Notorious’ style before, which he feels could be problematic. He explained that McGregor’s ultra-aggressive tactics make him a difficult opponent to prepare for in the gym.
“It doesn’t matter how hard you train or how good your cardio is — when somebody comes forward and pressures you and makes you fight, it’s a totally different ball game. When you hit pads, you’re not pushing forward. When you’re sparring, are you colliding with your training partners and creating scrambles? Probably not, because it’s uncomfortable to do that.”
While he didn’t predict the outcome of the fight, it was clear from Johnson’s comments that he is leaning towards the interim champion for this bout.
“I think Conor McGregor, that’s his fighting style. He comes forward. Aldo doesn’t really come forward. He almost mesmerizes you with the jab, low kick, inside kick, 1-2. I think Conor is going to force that exchange and we’re going to find out who’s going to be standing after.”
We’ll hopefully find out on December 12th who’s left standing with the belt around their waist.
Hat-tip to ESPN
