Conor McGregor: Jose Aldo doesn't need to worry about ribs – the Irishman wants his chin

LAS VEGAS – Conor McGregor knows he’ll be fighting July 11, he just doesn’t know yet whom he’ll face.

But if it’s Jose Aldo, the Irish contender insists the UFC featherweight champ doesn’t need to worry about his ailing ribs.

“I’m going to go for the chin; I want to knock him out,” McGregor said. “He doesn’t need to worry about his ribs, and I’m not going to go out and purposely target an area. If he shows up and fights, which he should do, we’ll fight as scheduled.

“I’m not going to start diving at things. I’m just going to fight my fight. It’s the chin I am hunting.”

Aldo (25-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and McGregor (17-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) are currently scheduled to meet in the main event of UFC 189, which takes place July 11 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena and airs on pay-per-view. But with Aldo suffering an apparent bone bruise to his rib, as well as damage to the cartilage, Chad Mendes (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) has been tapped as a standby replacement opponent for a potential interim title fight so that McGregor will compete for a belt at UFC 189.

“It’s part of the business,” McGregor said of the change. “It is what it is.”

Of course, of the trio of fighters currently involved in the main event, only McGregor has to worry about two different potential foes. But McGregor said of the numerous options on the table following Aldo’s injury – including a potential fight at 155 pounds, as well as pushing the fight back to September – the only one that made sense to him was the one that would allow him to fight and not disappoint the thousands of Irish fans traveling over from Europe to watch the fight.

“As long as I am fit and I am healthy, I feel it’s only right that I show up and fight, so 155 was an option because the Aldo fight was looking to be rescheduled until September,” McGregor admitted. “But now, now I don’t know. I don’t give a f-ck really. I don’t care. I’ll be there July 10 at 145 pounds, and on July 11, I will have a gold belt wrapped around my waist. So everything else means nothing to me.”

If it does happen to be Aldo, it would seem knowing the champ has an ailing core would make for an easy strategy: Attack the ribs right away with punches and kicks to the body. But McGregor said he’s not thinking that way. Instead, he just hopes the champ doesn’t back out of what is easily one of the most anticipated fights of the year.

“It turns out it’s just a bruised rib,” McGregor said. “Little bit of ice, little bit of ibuprofen, little bit of ‘toughen the f-ck up,’ and we should get on with the fight.”

With his vaunted wrestling skills, Mendes could actually prove the tougher matchup in the cage, even on short notice. But McGregor insists he’s not worried about that possibility. He also says he’s not losing sleep over what could be one of the most difficult tasks a UFC title challenger has ever endured on the eve of his biggest fight.

“I’m just preparing to get better,” McGregor said. “That’s it. I show up at the gym looking to become a better martial artist.

“I’ll whip both of them on the same night if need be. So whoever shows up across the octagon will get beat.”

For more from McGregor on his unique situation, his feelings on Aldo’s recent drug-testing fiasco, how he thinks UFC 189 will perform and pay-per-view and more, check out the video above.

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