Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida has weighed in on the potential fight between featherweight champion Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor.
The Brazilian recently spoke with MMAFighting.com and claimed that Irish standout McGregor (16-2) would not be able to match the ability of his countryman, Aldo (25-1).
“If you’re going to compare him to Jose Aldo, Aldo is technically better,” Machida told MMAFighitng.com. “(McGregor) is a tough fighter, he’s coming out strong, but you can’t say he beats Aldo. Aldo is too dominant.”
Conor McGregor has taken the world by storm since joining the UFC featherweight ranks last year. The outspoken 26-year-old has put together a dominant 4-fight win streak and is lobbying for a UFC title shot, but first he must dispatch of German striking expert Dennis Siver in the headline bout of UFC Fight Night on Jan. 18 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Aldo most recently retained the 145lb crown with a unanimous decision victory over Chad Mendes in what turned out to be one of this year’s highlight bouts. The 28-year-old will likely face the winner of Cub Swanson vs. Frankie Edgar which takes places on Nov. 22 with McGregor as the next in line, should he beat Siver.
“He can promote himself the way he wants. I don’t see (McGregor) as a bad person,” Machida said. “He’s right, he’s promoting himself this way, and we have to respect him.”
Machida continued; “It’s not my style to talk trash to my opponents, I have techniques to get (to a title fight) in a way that I think it’s the right way. If you win fights convincingly, it makes it easier.”
Machida was most recently defeated by UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman by way of unanimous decision at UFC 175 on July 5. Machida aims to get back on track when he faces C.B. Dolloway in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Barueri, Brazil on December 20.
