Conor McGregor vs Jose Aldo: Irishman sends knockout warning to champion ahead of UFC 194 showdown

McGregor has sent a picture to Aldo as tensions rise ahead of next week's headline fight in Las Vegas

Conor McGregor sent a message to his UFC 194 opponent Jose Aldo (Twitter/@TheNotoriousMMA)

Conor McGregor has sent Jose Aldo a picture of what he believes the UFC featherweight champion will see when they clash at UFC 194, after predicting he will knock the Brazilian out in the middle of the Octagon.

Irishman McGregor finally gets his chance to claim the featherweight championship on 12 December, after the pair’s original bout scheduled for UFC 189 in July had to be postponed when Aldo suffered a rib injury.

With McGregor currently the interim champion after defeating Chad Mendes at UFC 189, the pair will finally collide in the most eager-anticipated bout of the year, and the pair have regularly traded insults throughout 2015 ahead of the showdown that will solve who the best featherweight in the UFC currently is.

With less than a fortnight before they meet, McGregor has issued another message directly to Aldo, by tweeting the champion a picture of what the view will be like looking up at the Dubliner – predictably after McGregor knocks him out.

McGregor, who remains undefeated in the UFC, added the caption: “Wake up Jose. It’s all over.”

Excitement towards the fight will begin to rise rapidly, with the two set to clash in press conferences and the weigh-in before getting their hands on each other a week on Saturday. McGregor is known for unsettling his opponents, but he will need to be on the top of his game to defeat Aldo, given the Brazilian remain the pound-for-pound No 1 in the UFC.

Conor McGregor is the interim UFC featherweight champion (Getty Images)

While McGregor’s self-confidence remains sky-high, he could draw inspiration from Holly Holm’s victory at UFC 193, when she knocked out reigning Women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey to hand her a first defeat in the Octagon.