UFC 194 results: Conor McGregor lives up to the hype with incredible 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo

Full report from an unbelievable night

(Josh Hedges/ Zuffa LLC)

On a night that varied from the sublime to the utterly bonkers, Conor McGregor proved he's more than just a man with a mic as he defeated Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds to become the undisputed featherweight champion of the world. As quick as that, after everything that was said before the fight, it took just one punch to bring the night to a close in spectacular fashion. After the entire main card went to decisions, we were greeted to two finishes on either end of the spectrum: Luke Rockhold with a brutal victory and McGregor with one of the most clinical you'll ever see.

Take a look below for the full fight report:

Jose Aldo vs Conor McGregor - UFC Featherweight title fight

After all the talk, after all the hype, after all the build-up, fans finally got to see Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo meet in the centre of the Octagon, and it was Conor McGregor who proved he is more than just talk, knocking Jose Aldo out cold with virtually the first punch he threw in just 13 seconds.

Much like McGregor, he had to win in almost unbelievable fashion. Aldo lay in complete shock and utter disappointment as McGregor stormed around the ring as the new champion, waving the Irish flag aloft.

Despite the fight lasting less than the time it takes to say both fighters’ names, it somehow manages to live up to it’s own impossible hype. Where else would such an incredible fight have such an absurd finish? Aldo has never been knocked out, not been beaten in a decade, and it just took one punch from Notorious to end him.

Chris Weidman vs Luke Rockhold - UFC Middleweight title fight

In the most under-the-radar fight of the evening, which is insane considering the middleweight title was on the line, this one certainly lived up to the hype as Weidman took the first round, but a failed attempted spinning back kick proved costly for the (now former) champion as it marked the beginning of his undoing.

Rockhold took advantage of the miss and dragged Weidman to the ground in the third, unleashing a series of bone-crunching punches and elbows, all on Chris’ face. How the ref didn’t step in at the close of the third is anybody’s guess. However, it merely delayed the inevitable as Luke Rockhold continued his dominance in the fourth and finished Weidman via TKO due to strikes, as Dean finally stopped the contest as Luke stood atop his opponent dealing serious damage.

With Rockhold the new middleweight champ, he need only look to the fight that came before his victory to see his most likely first challenger.

Jacare Souza vs Yoel Romero

In what stood to be the fight of the night before kicking off, Souza and Romero didn’t quite live up to the hype. The only highlight of note was when Souza got rocked in the first courtesy of a spinning back fist and still didn’t look steady as he headed to his corner after the bell. Two slow rounds followed as Romero eventually took the split decision.

Damian Maia vs Gunnar Nelson

In what was always expected to be a high-level grappling contest, Maia and Nelson put on a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu clinic in the cage. Maia dominated the first round with some excellent transition work maintaining dominance and keeping Nelson’s back from the halfway point in the round. Nelson did well to defend and survive to the end of the first, but took some damage in order to do so.

Maia didn’t let up for the entire fight and proved why he’s one of the best grapplers in the game. Nelson took vicious elbows and punches from the Brazilian for much of the fight, having spent the majority either on his back or defending his back from submissions.

Max Holloway vs Jeremy Stephens

The main card got off to an unexciting start as Max Holloway defeated Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision. Stephens tried desperately the whole fight to land a takedown but Holloway stood firm and even landed a takedown of his own in the third. Stephens swung for the fences in the final minute of the third round but couldn’t make anything happen as Holloway eventually ran out a comfortable winner.

The undercard

All fights on the undercard impressed with some early stoppages but the highlight of the lot was Urijah Faber’s hard-fought victory over Frankie Saenz. Faber had Saenz rocked in the second round with a solid knee to the temple, but Saenz recovered to leave Faber exhausted for the rest of the round. Faber’s solid counter-punching and speed were enough to see him seal the decision victory.

Full Fight Results

• Conor McGregor def. Jose Aldo via KO to become undisputed Featherweight champion
• Luke Rockhold def. Chris Weidman via TKO to become the new middleweight champion
• Yoel Romero def. Jacare Souza via split decision
• Maia def. Nelson via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-25)
• Holloway def. Stephens via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Faber def. Saenz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Torres def. Jones-Lybarger via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Alves def. Covington via first-round submission
• Santos def. Lee via first-round stoppage due to punches
• Magomed Mustafaev defeats John Proctor via first round TKO
• Yancy Medeiros beats John Makdessi via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Court McGee def. Marcio Alexandre via unanimous decision