The news many expected to come has arrived, and next week’s UFC 189 has been overhauled less than two weeks out.
UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo (25-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) officially has pulled out of his title fight against rival Conor McGregor (17-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) with a rib injury. UFC President Dana White announced the news on tonight’s edition of “SportsCenter” on ESPN, alongside McGregor.
That means the contingency plan the UFC set in place this past week goes into effect, and McGregor will meet two-time title challenger Chad Mendes (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) for an interim belt.
White said the reason for the interim title, in this case, has to do with Aldo’s history of pulling out of title fights.
“Andre Pederneiras, his coach, called and basically said that Aldo’s rib is too painful, and he will not be fighting,” White said on the show. “So Chad Mendes now will fight Conor McGregor for the interim belt. Jose Aldo’s pulled out of five title fights. Conor’s ready to go. The No. 1 guy in the world, Chad Mendes, is ready to go. So it makes sense. They’ll fight for the interim title, and whenever Jose Aldo is ready, then that fight can happen to unify.
“It’s his decision. I don’t feel great about it. We’ve spent a lot of money promoting this fight. A lot of people are excited about the fight, so it’s definitely disappointing.”
UFC 189 takes place July 11 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
The bout actually takes the main-event slot over another title fight: welterweight champion Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald. With Aldo vs. McGregor as the centerpiece of the show, the UFC reportedly spent millions of dollars on a flashy promotional video and five-country media tour (see the highlights below) to drum up interest for the mega-fight. But now all of that promotional effort is tossed to the side and the UFC will have 10 days to promote the new interim title fight.
Aldo and McGregor, respectively ranked No. 1 and No. 6 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings (Mendes is ranked No. 2), publicly bickered even before the fight was officially announced. White recently said the event was on pace for a million pay-per-view buys, a mark reached only nine times in company history.
The latest UFC 189 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 7 p.m. ET)
For more on UFC 189, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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