YOU might be wondering what this UFC business is all about. You might be wondering if it’s worth staying up for. You might want to have a bet to make it more interesting. Or you might read this and come to the conclusion to that you’d rather be in bed.
Hopefully this concise guide to what you need to know for Conor McGregor vs Jose Aldo, and why everyone’s banging on about it, can help you decide if it’s for you or not. First thing’s first…
What time is the fight on at?
Well, it’s in Las Vegas, so for those of us in the GMT zone we’re looking at 4.30am at the earliest, although it could be as late as 5.30am in all honesty. MMA shows are like boxing – there’s no fixed time on bouts as fights take place before the main event and it all has a knock-on effect.
Wait, what’s MMA? I thought this was UFC?
MMA [Mixed Martial Arts] is the actual sport, UFC is just a division. So, like the Premier League in football, UFC is just an elite division of competitors within a sport.
Got it, so where can I watch the fight?
BT Sport. If you don’t have a TV subscription to BT Sport, but you are a BT internet customer, you’ll qualify for the BT Sport app as part of your package, which will enable you to stream the fight through a computer or mobile device, with the option to cast to a TV.
What are they fighting for?
Aldo is the UFC featherweight champion and has been since 2010, but McGregor will attempt to dethrone him and take that title. McGregor, incidentally, holds an inferior belt – the UFC interim featherweight title – but Aldo’s belt is the one everyone wants and you have to beat him to get it. He hasn’t been beaten in an MMA fight in over 10 years.
What should I bet on?
McGregor looks to have won the mental battle in the build-up to the fight, but now he has to go out and win the physical battle. The bookmakers have him as the 8/11 favourite, but those odds may be dictated by the heavy amounts of money going on the Irishman as the hysteria around his ability shows no sign of slowing. The best price you can get on Aldo is 11/10, which looks the more inviting bet considering the Brazilian has been champion for the last five years. The safest bet is probably either fighter to win via knockout or technical knock-out at 4/9.
OK, I’m in, where can I learn more about UFC basics?
You can impress your slumber party buddies by getting stuck into our 10 easy-to-remember-facts about UFC/MMA right here.
