UFC 194 lowdown: The Conor McGregor vs Jose Aldo fight broken down... Sportsmail runs the rule over KOs, endurance and more

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Saturday night’s main event between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor is just days away and the fight still seems too close to call.

Aldo is undefeated in 10 years, the UFC’s pound-for-pound king and the only featherweight champion in the promotion’s history – but there’s something about Conor McGregor’s momentum and confidence that makes people believe he can unseat the king.

Here, Sportsmail runs the rule over some of the key areas of the fight.

Jose Aldo (left) takes on Conor McGregor in a few days but the big fight still seems too close to call

Knockout artist

Aldo (60 per cent KO/TKO rate in UFC/WEC)

If you had only seen Jose Aldo since his arrival in the UFC you might not consider him to be one of MMA’s most dangerous strikers. But prior to the UFC launching its featherweight division in 2011 Aldo was knocking out the best 145-pounders in the world in sensational fashion.

The brutal knee that stopped Chad Mendes in their first fight was the most obvious glimpse of his explosive striking in recent years but his flying knee that knocked Cub Swanson out cold just eight seconds into their 2009 WEC bout still lives long in the memory.

McGregor burst onto the UFC scene with an uppercut KO of Marcus Brimage and has continued his form

McGregor (89 per cent KO/TKO rate in UFC)

There’s no doubt that Conor McGregor has some of the heaviest hands in the featherweight division, and it’s this combined with the accuracy of his punches that seems to leave his opponents sprawled out on the canvas.

The Irishman burst onto the UFC scene with an uppercut KO of Marcus Brimage and has finished all of his opponents, other than Max Holloway, in the first two rounds. Even in the Holloway fight, McGregor was dominating the bout on the feet before tearing his anterior cruciate knee ligament in the second round which, forced him to take the fight to the ground.

McGregor’s knockout of Chad Mendes in his last fight showed he can stop even the best in the division. Prior to entering the UFC McGregor also finished all of his victories by knockout or TKO in the first or second round.

Verdict: McGregor

 McGregor's (right) knockout of Chad Mendes in his last fight showed he can stop even the best in the division

Grappling

Aldo (91.2 per cent takedown defence)

Neither fighter has had much need to showcase their grappling so far in their careers, but one thing that stands out in Aldo’s game is his takedown defence, which is undoubtedly among the best in the UFC.

Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar, both fantastic wrestlers, couldn’t get Aldo to the canvas for any length of time in a combined 12 rounds.

The Brazilian is also a highly decorated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt but hasn’t had much chance to show his ground game.

Aldo reacts after defeating Ricardo Lamas in their featherweight championship fight at the UFC 169

McGregor (66.7 per cent takedown defence)

The main knock on The Notorious from critics has been his takedown defence, an area which was shown up in his last fight with Chad Mendes. To what extent McGregor’s knee injury he carried into the fight affected him we will never know, but the Irishman spent the best part of two rounds on his back before knocking out Mendes.

He didn’t offer much off his back either, although he showed patience and excellent submission defence to roll out of a choke and get back to his feet to finish the fight.

McGregor has also been taken down by Dennis Siver in the UFC, if only briefly, but did showcase his top-game against Max Holloway who he dominated in the second and third rounds of their fight – managing to move into mount.

McGregor's two losses, both earlier in his career, came by submission.

Verdict: Aldo

UFC President Dana White (centre) separates UFC featherweight champion Aldo (left) and McGregor

Distance/reach

Aldo (reach 70in)

The champion is giving up a reach advantage in this fight but will be hoping he can close the distance effectively to out-land on the Irishman with his vicious combinations.

The Brazilian is considered by many to have the speed advantage, which could help him do this. Given that the champion was too fast for the Frankie Edgar, in the early rounds of their fight, it would seem fair to give him the advantage here against the larger McGregor.

Aldo’s vicious leg-kicks, which brutalised Uriah Faber in their WEC title fight in 2010, could also be a way for him to hurt McGregor at range – using the challenger’s wide karate-style stance against him.

Aldo’s speed also makes him hard to hit, absorbing an average of less than two strikes a minute and successfully defending 72.2 per cent of his opponents’ shots.

Aldo’s vicious leg-kicks could be a way for him to hurt McGregor at range when the two come face-to-face

McGregor (reach 74in)

The Notorious will have the reach advantage and has proved he is excellent at controlling the distance in his UFC career so far.

His wild kicks help him keep the fight at his range and his Karate stance means he can move in and then exit quickly off his punches.

The front kick to the body was a weapon he used very effectively in the Mendes fight to wind his opponent from outside of his arm span.

But Mendes was giving up even more in reach than Aldo, and was still able to land some big shots on McGregor. The Irishman, while being incredibly accurate is often there to be hit largely due to his eagerness to engage.

While he lands two more strikes than Aldo on average per minute at a rate of 5.4, McGregor absorbs an extra shot than then Brazilian every 60 seconds – taking three to Aldo’s 1.94.

Verdict: McGregor

Endurance

Aldo (Gone to five rounds six times)

The Brazilian has often come under fire for historically finishing slowly in some of his title fights after dominating the early rounds. This has often been put down to his difficult weight cut.

However, Aldo showcased his heart, determination and stamina in his last fight to against Mendes and looked impressive in the fifth and final round despite a gruelling and punishing war.

Even in his Frankie Edgar bout, where Aldo slowed down in rounds three and four, he dug deep to steal an enthralling fifth round – even jumping off the cage to land a superman punch on the former lightweight champion.

McGregor has some of the heaviest hands in the featherweight division and will look to unleash them on Aldo

McGregor (Only been three rounds once in his career)

It’s hard to hold McGregor’s incredible record of finishes against him, but it’s another uncertainty we have about the Irishman due to the brief time he’s spent in the cage.

Everything from his meticulous preparation, his recovery against adversity in the Mendes fight, and his dominant win despite injury against Holloway would suggest he is in fantastic shape but there’s no way of simulating a five-round war in front of 16,000 screaming fans for the world title.

Verdict: Aldo