UFC 189 media tour begins: Jose Aldo says Conor McGregor is 'in deep sh-t'

RIO DE JANEIRO – It’s still four months away, but this summer’s featherweight title fight grew to a fever pitch today.

Promoting their UFC 189 title fight while on a press tour in Rio de Janeiro, featherweight champion Jose Aldo and challenger Conor McGregor shared a stage with UFC President Dana White, then got face to face.

But before their heated face-off, there were many words – with McGregor’s coming in the ultimate in hostile territory, in Aldo’s home country of Brazil, where the fans in attendance shouted the Irishman down with the infamous Portuguese “Uh vai morrer!” chant, which means “You’re going to die.”

McGregor (17-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and Aldo (25-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) headline UFC 189 on July 11 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas – headlining the card even ahead of a welterweight title fight between champ Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald.

White told MMAjunkie the UFC abandoned its policy for heavier weight classes taking the main event in cases of multiple title fights on the same card because of the magnitude of the fight.

“There’s no doubt this is the biggest featherweight matchup in history,” White said. “It’s a fight people care about, not just in Brazil, not just in Ireland, but all over the world. So we made this decision.”

“The reality is, he burst on the scene, he beat a lot of tough guys and got himself in position,” White continued. “Conor was next in line. This fight makes sense. Talking doesn’t hurt, either. Talking is fun, but we’re here because of what he’s done in the octagon, and that’s what makes this fight so big.”

And talking, McGregor did on Friday, not shying away from the boos and hostility of the Rio fans.

“I own this town. I own Rio de Janeiro,” McGregor told MMAjunkie. “I’m sitting up here with my feet on the desk. What’s anyone going to do about it? My family’s motto means … ‘royal is in my blood.’ If this was a different time, I’d invade his favela and kill anyone who was not fit to work. But this is a new time, so I’ll whoop his ass in July.”

For his part, Aldo had no problems talking right back.

“He’s 50-50 (as a fighter),” Aldo told MMAjunkie. “He’s not as good as he thinks he is. He just got here because of what he talks. He’s never gotten a good fight in this division that can give him any risk. But let’s just say he’s bringing us a lot of things here. You can rest assured he’ll be just another one (on my record).”

McGregor and Aldo were face to face in January in Boston. There, McGregor headlined UFC Fight Night 59 and took out Dennis Siver with a second-round knockout.

After the win, he scaled the cage and went toward Aldo, who was sitting cageside knowing a McGregor win would put him next in line to fight him.

“He did what he always did,” Aldo told MMAjunkie of that encounter. “He’s just a fool. He stood in front of a security guard to not get close to me. With me (in the fight), he’s in deep sh-t. He’s in deep sh-t.”

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