Mark Hominick will have more than a passing interest when José Aldo defends his Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title against Conor McGregor in Las Vegas in July.

The retired Canadian mixed martial artist was defeated via unanimous decision by Aldo in a title bout that earned Fight of the Night honours in 2011.

Hominick, who visited Bermuda to conduct a three-day coaching retreat at CrossFit BDA on Mills Creek, believes that Aldo, who is ranked as the second best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC, is at “another level” to McGregor, his octagon know-how and technical nous far superior to those of the challenger.

The 32-year-old, however, does admit that McGregor, a brash Dubliner brimming with braggadocio, has a “puncher’s chance”, especially if he can catch his Brazilian opponent with a big shot early on.

“Conor has a shot early in the fight because his style is very unorthodox and he’s very aggressive and confident,” said Hominick, who hung up his gloves in 2012.

“But the longer the fight goes on, Aldo will show his experience as a champion and [his superior] techniques will take over.”

McGregor has enjoyed a meteoric rise since joining the UFC in 2013, his colourful personality and “trash talking” have helped to catapult him into the sport’s spotlight as a “love him or loathe him” fighter.

Such is the 26-year-old’s prominence, he signed a deal in January with Reebok, while a documentary about him entitled The Notorious Conor McGregor is heading to the Cannes Film Festival.

More money has been spent on promoting the bout than any other fight in UFC history, but despite the hype, which some commentators believe is not wholly justified, Hominick is convinced that McGregor’s pulling power can only help to grow the UFC’s popularity.

“We’re in the business of entertainment and having characters like [Conor] helps bring attention to the sport,” Hominick said.

“You can argue whether it’s positive or negative sometimes, but you can’t deny that people are caring about him.

“All sports need superstars and Conor has backed up everything he’s said he will do, although to my mind he hasn’t fought anybody inside the top ten.”

He added: “It’s tough for me to watch because Conor’s in my weight division. I think we would have crossed paths at some point.”

Since his retirement, Hominick has travelled around the world conducting mixed martial arts coaching seminars such as what he held in Bermuda.

Several Bermuda fighters such as Jermal Woolridge, who won the silver medal at the Sanda World Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia, last November, and Reyel Bowen, who will headline next weekend’s Fight Night XVII Invincible at Berkeley Institute, attended Hominick’s coaching clinic.

“The participation was great and I had very positive feedback,” said Hominick, who was invited to the Island by the Bermuda Combat Club, established by local fighter Mark Prior.

“I’ve been impressed with their stand-up skills, especially. There is some striking [kickboxing] experience in this country, but the one area I think they’re lacking is on the ground [wrestling].

“The sport is still at a grassroots level in Bermuda and hopefully this is another step to helping grow it.”

Hominick insists that there is no “glass ceiling” to how popular the UFC can become, with bumper shows being held in England, Ireland, Germany and China in recent years.

“The UFC has only been around since 1993, so it’s a relatively new sport,” he said. “My first fight was in front of 50 people, whereas my last fight was in front of 55,000.

“It isn’t quite a mainstream sport, but it has been picked up by Fox [Broadcasting Company] and the popularity is there.

“Mixed martial arts is universally recognised and every time it goes to a new county people are drawn to it — it’s gone global.

“It’s about toppling those kind of mountains, breaking down barriers and getting it into new markets.”

• To watch a video of Mark Hominick’s coaching clinic log on to www.royalgazette.com