Jose Aldo still on at UFC 189 – but Conor McGregor-Chad Mendes contingency in place

Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor

Jose Aldo is not out of his UFC 189 main event title defense against Conor McGregor. But the UFC has a backup plan in place.

In a statement released late Wednesday, the UFC said if Aldo (25-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) cannot defend his featherweight title against McGregor (17-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) next month, McGregor still will fight for a belt. In the event of Aldo’s withdrawal, McGregor will meet two-time title challenger Chad Mendes (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) for an interim belt.

The severity of Aldo’s injury, the UFC said in the statement, is not as bad as initially feared.

“In light of recent reports regarding the status of UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, UFC has received official medical confirmation from several doctors that Aldo did not suffer a broken rib,” the statement reads. “Following a review of the scans, it has been determined that the champion suffered a bone bruise to his rib and cartilage injury during training.

“With this news, Aldo has expressed that he has every intention of facing Conor McGregor at UFC 189.”

The UFC went on to deliver the contingency plan involving Mendes:

“While Aldo has indicated that he will compete in Las Vegas on July 11, UFC has confirmed a contingency plan. No.1 featherweight contender Chad Mendes will face McGregor for the interim UFC featherweight championship in the event Aldo cannot compete. UFC remains committed to delivering the featherweight and the welterweight championship fights at UFC 189 during UFC International Fight Week in Las Vegas.”

Aldo vs. McGregor is slated to headline the card, with a title fight between welterweight champion Robbie Lawler (25-10 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and top contender Rory MacDonald (18-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in the co-feature spot.

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.

News of Aldo’s injury broke on Tuesday when it was reported the champion suffered a broken rib taking a kick in a training incident in his native Brazil – an initial prognosis that it turns out was incorrect.

The latest UFC 189 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor – for featherweight title
• Champ Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald – for welterweight title
• Dennis Bermudez vs. Jeremy Stephens
• Gunnar Nelson vs. Brandon Thatch
• Thomas Almeida vs. Brad Pickett

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)

• Matt Brown vs. Tim Means
• John Howard vs. Cathal Pendred
• Alex Garcia vs. Mike Swick
• Henry Briones vs. Cody Garbrandt

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 7 p.m. ET)

• Neil Seery vs. Louis Smolka
• Yosdenis Cedeno vs. Cody Pfister

For more on UFC 189, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.