After losing its main event, UFC 176 has been officially "postponed," though realistically, it has been cancelled.
Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole first reported the news, and the UFC has subsequently confirmed it:
The UFC® has announced that the UFC 176 Pay-Per-View event scheduled for August 2nd will be postponed. The featherweight championship fight between Aldo and Mendes is expected to take place later this year and all other fights previously slated for UFC 176 are being rescheduled for upcoming cards.
Iole tweeted that Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes II is possible for an October pay-per-view in Brazil:
UFC 176 is postponed. Aldo-Mendes will be rescheduled, probably in October. Story to come soon on @YahooSports
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) July 9, 2014
Last week, MMA Fighting reported that Aldo would not be able to square off with "Money" Mendes a second time due to a strained shoulder/spine injury suffered in training.
Since scoring a spectacular knee-strike knockout over Mendes at UFC 142 in January 2012, Scarface has continued his winning ways against formidable foes in Frankie Edgar, Chan Sung Jung and Ricardo Lamas.
Aldo is currently riding a 17-fight win streak, with his sole career loss coming in a lightweight contest all the way back in November 2005.
Mendes, in his own right, has looked impressive since his lone defeat inside the cage.
Since coming up short against Aldo, the Team Alpha Male standout has rattled off five consecutive victories, four of which came via knockout.
UFC 176 also would have featured a lightweight scrap between Tony Ferguson and Danny Castillo, a pairing between Bobby Green and Abel Trujillo and Gray Maynard's return against Fabricio Camoes.
Additionally, a high-profile middleweight showdown between Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Gegard "The Dreamcatcher" Mousasi also has to be rescheduled.
UFC 177, which is headlined by a bantamweight championship rematch between T.J. Dillashaw and Renan Barao on August 30, takes place at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California, and remains intact.
Is this a perfect example of the UFC overextending itself with its current active event schedule, or is it simply a smart and necessary business decision, considering the circumstances?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
