MMA Odds and Ends for Tuesday: Aldo vs McGregor Headlines UFC 194

UFC 189 Weigh-in Results for ‘McGregor vs Mendes’ in Las VegasThe 24/7 MMA news cycle never stops, and that was the case today as a fight was announced just an hour ago due to an injury for the upcoming UFC Saskatoon card next weekend. Here are the latest UFC fight announcements: Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor, UFC 194 Sorry Dallas, but UFC 194 will be taking place in Las Vegas and will be headlined by the much-anticipated featherweight title unification match between champion Jose Aldo and interim champ Conor McGregor. Both men had a huge tour to hype up their planned main event for UFC 189 this past July, but things fell through after a rib injury forced Aldo out of the bout. Two-time title challenger Chad Mendes stepped up instead and was knocked out at the end of the second round by McGregor to build to this monumental clash. Aldo is one of the greatest and most dangerous fighters in UFC history, while the hype behind McGregor has been further solidified now that he’s passed a serious wrestling and punching power test in Mendes. If everyone stays healthy, this will be the biggest fight the UFC has put on in years. Neil Magny vs Erick Silva, UFC Fight Night 74 This fight was just announced earlier this morning via Saskatoon reporter Dave Diebert. Originally, Rick Story was going to battle Erick Silva earlier this year but the bout was delayed to the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 74 and is now off altogether. Magny has agreed to step up on very short notice to take on Silva in what should be a very intriguing battle. Magny is coming off a second round submission loss to Demian Maia at UFC 190 two weekends ago, while Silva most recently submitted Josh Koscheck at UFC Fight Night 62 this past March. Magny is known for his tremendous conditioning and gorilla-like wingspan while Silva is an all-or-nothing quick finisher who runs out of steam if he can’t put his opponent away in the first round. This will be an interesting dynamic to see play out but you have to slightly favor Silva due to the short notice nature of Magny’s inclusion as well as Magny’s recent poor performance on the ground against Maia. Bubba Bush vs. Garreth McLellan, UFC Fight Night 76 Two fighters are looking for redemption after less-than-stellar UFC debuts as Bubba Bush battles Garreth McLellan at the upcoming UFC Dublin event. McLellan was soundly outwrestled by Bartosz Fabinski at UFC Fight Night 64 earlier this year while Bush last fought over a year ago, losing in a minute to Kevin Casey (although the result was later overturned when Casey tested positive for PEDs). Bush is a former Legacy middleweight champion while McLellan hails from the much less heralded South African scene. Considering how much trouble McLellan had in his UFC debut with the wrestling of a welterweight moving up a division on short notice, I expect Bush to roll here and he should be a decently-sized favorite come showtime.

Written by Brian Hemminger

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