Conor McGregor ousted the reigning featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, in just 13 seconds at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night. It is a new record for the quickest finish in UFC championship history.
What was the previous record?—14 seconds. Ronda Rousey defeated a rambunctious Cat Zingano at UFC 184 on February 28. Ten events later, that record has fallen. UFC 194 delivered in a big way and was capped off with an astonishing knockout that had to be seen to be believed.
One little second put McGregor in a league of his own.
The UFC put together three events spanning three days, and the move of the weekend was the left hook—something the Irish star excels at. He showed it off right out of the gate against Aldo. McGregor timed it perfectly, and the left hook put the Brazilian out like a light.
A new reign began in Las Vegas.
"No one can take that left-hand shot" is the new "right leg hospital, left leg cemetery."
— Scott Harris (@ScottHarrisMMA) December 13, 2015
Rousey capitalized on a mistake—whereas McGregor finished on his own accord. Either way, both finishes were extremely impressive.
Aldo’s loss marked the third title loss by three of the most dominant champions in the UFC. And it happened in a 30-day span. Holly Holm upset Rousey, Luke Rockhold knocked off Chris Weidman and McGregor made history with a broken record.
It is quite something to have that record broken twice in a year, especially when you reflect on how difficult it is to finish a fight within 15 or 25 minutes—let alone 15 seconds. Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey did that in 2015.
McGregor talks the talk and walks the walk. He is truly special, and he has backed everything up in the cage. UFC 194 was another example of what true belief in oneself can bring.
In McGregor’s case, it brought him 12 pounds of gold.
