Dana White was surprised, the other fighters on the card were surprised, and the fans in attendance at the UFC 194 press conference were certainly surprised to see Conor McGregor face off against Jose Aldo and simply nod before turning away.
"Was that it?" was a common reaction on seeing the clip, but yes, that was it, and if you didn't understand why Conor McGregor didn't get in Jose Aldo's face on Wednesday, then perhaps you haven't been listening to everything the notorious Dubliner has been saying.
Conor McGregor has created the blueprint to becoming a UFC superstar, and he's been telling everyone what he is doing along the way.
At a press conference in 2013 ahead of his fight with Marcus Brimmage, McGregor explained how and why he is emotion free at the weigh-ins:
I don't have emotions in there. It's all a game, it's all an act the weigh in's and all, I'm just playing it up.
When I get in there it's all emotion free.
He has since explained that what he does is not an act many times since, but when did he say these things? In preparation for an upcoming fight.
We've seen Conor go mental at weigh-ins before, but he's been continually trying to sell the fight in those cases, this time, the fight doesn't need to be sold anymore. We're at a point now where Johnny Giles is being asked about Aldo v McGregor on the radio, and even though Gilesy hasn't any interest in MMA at all, that shows you how much people are talking about this event. The work is done. Now it's time for business, and business McGregor is as cool as a cucumber.
You only need to look at Conor McGregor's reaction to his victory over Chad Mendes at UFC 189 to further support this point. McGregor claimed he was humbled, and thanked Mendes, the same man he had been calling a midget in the run up to the fight, for stepping in to save the day. If he was this egotistical madman who loves nothing more than to disrespect his opponents, then the talking would continue after the fight. We have yet to see that happen.
When Conor McGregor "talks trash" or disrespects his opponents, not only is he promoting the upcoming fight, but he is usually taking his opponent out of his game plan too.
If you look back at Jose Aldo's UFC title defences, he fights safe, he fights smart. Aldo doesn't take many risks in the Octagon, and a result he has become known for grinding out a tough title defence. In recent times his opponents have been respectful in their comments on the champ, and Aldo has gone in with a cold heart and dispatched them one by one by wearing them down, by knowing that they have to take the risks, and by ultimately punishing them for it. We know how Aldo performs when everyone tells him how great he is.
This time? Just look at what Aldo's camp are saying about the McGregor fight:
Aldo is personally offended, and he wants to finish McGregor quickly.
This is what we hear in almost every episode of Embedded, even from Aldo himself. He is pissed off at what has been said, and he's determined to "kill" McGregor because of it, but if he wants to do that, he will need to take risks, and in doing so will give McGregor a better chance at beating him than any of his last opponents.
Aldo showed up to that press conference expecting a confrontation. Either that or he's grown a few inches in the last months, as his choice of footwear conveniently had Aldo at eye-level for a staredown:
Aldo isn't that tall. He was up for a clash of heads, but McGregor saw no need for it.
Promoting the fight: Job done.
Getting into Aldo's head: Job done.
This doesn't mean that Conor McGregor will defeat Jose Aldo. Aldo is a magnificent champion, and the pound for pound best fighter in the UFC, so it is perfectly reasonable to expect him to put all of this aside and impose his will on Conor like he did to his long list of defeated opponents.
That said, Conor has put himself in an as good a position as he could have hoped. His job is done, all that's left is to do the business in the Octagon, so that's why we saw such a calm face-off at the press conference.
