NSAC director discusses Jose Aldo's injury and licensing status ahead of UFC 189

Jose Aldo

Jose Aldo’s desire to go ahead with his UFC 189 bout with Conor McGregor despite a rib injury has restored some optimism after a panicked few days in the MMA world.

Aldo’s (25-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) willingness to go ahead with the McGregor (17-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) fight is not the only hurdle needing to be cleared, however. There’s still a licensing process for the bout, which takes place July 11 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena and airs on pay-per-view. Aldo will have to be cleared medically and then licensed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

“He’ll have to be licensed when all his medicals are in,” NSAC Executive Director Bob Bennett told MMAjunkie. “There’s not a cutoff date, no.”

While some have expected the NSAC to step in and prevent an injured Aldo from taking a championship fight, Bennett says that the ball is still in the promotion’s court.

“That’s for the UFC,” Bennett said. “They’ll go ahead and that will be reflected in his medical records, and that’s also reflected in his pre-fight questionnaire.

“So if he’s hurt and he can’t fight, he’ll reveal it to us, or he should. I understand about the injury he has, and I understand they’re taking a look at it, and they’re evaluating him, and those are all questions that really should be directed at the UFC, because we’re working hand-in-glove with them. At this point and time, it’s not a regulatory issue.”

That trust in the UFC extends to the point of expecting the promotion to step in and bring an inability to fight to the attention of the NSAC.

There are no orthopedic tests required for licensing. So, the NSAC executive director says, Aldo will have to fill out his questionnaire, go through routine examinations and things will proceed from there.

“He comes in, he fills out a pre-fight questionnaire, and my ringside physicians go through their normal physical examinations,” Bennett said. “If he can’t pass the normal physical examination that’s done, we would get into additional questioning. But anything prior to that, if nothing’s revealed to us that prohibits him from fighting, just like every athlete has some type of injury prior to an event, whether it’s baseball, basketball, or football – everybody’s injured to a certain extent. But if he’s hurt to the extent that he can’t fight, I’m sure the UFC is going to let us know, and bring it to our attention.”

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

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