A common foe of Jose Aldo and Connor McGregor could be the best person to more or less gauge who has the upper hand at UFC 194 set for Dec. 12.
Chad Mendes lost to both protagonists, first against Aldo. He fought Aldo twice but lost on both occasions, although he did show Aldo how tough he is by becoming the first man to knock down the Brazilian back in October 2014.
Back in July, Mendes took on McGregor as a last minute replacement for Aldo who had to pull out due to a rib injury he sustained during training. Despite having only three weeks to prepare, Mendes jumped at the opportunity.
Mendes did put up a good showing, grounding McGregor as much as he could with grapples. But a miscalculated move proved to be the pivotal turn of the match, allowing McGregor to go on the offensive and pull out a knockout (TKO) win over a worn-out Mendes.
After having faced both fighters, Mendes believes that Aldo has the advantage in power. Aldo kicks harder and faster, a similar maneuver that the Irishman does as long as he is not grounded.
Aldo and McGregor have been at it, engaging in a documented word war that started all the way back in March. At that time, McGregor took Aldo's belt and raised it over his head while the two were in Dublin.
With both Aldo and McGregor having enough time to heal their injuries, it remains to be seen if the forecast of Mendes will come true.
While Aldo went down with a rib injury, McGregor also had issues with his knees. This was about the time he was pitted against Mendes, although the Irishman went on to push through with the fight.
Apparently the knee issues were hardly noticed in his win over Mendes.
Could his knees hold up against a faster and stronger Aldo this December?
