The same day he said Jose Aldo is in, Dana White then said he’s out.
White went on SportsCenter on Tuesday and announced that Aldo has withdrawn from his UFC 189 bout with Conor McGregor due to a rib injury. That the being the case, Plan B is now a go as McGregor will face Chad Mendes for the UFC interim featherweight title.
“Andre Pederneiras, [Aldo’s] coach, called and basically said that Aldo’s rib is too painful and he will not be fighting,” White said. “Jose Aldo’s pulled out of five title fights. Conor’s ready to go. The No. 1 guy in the world, Chad Mendes, is ready to go. So it makes sense. They’ll fight for the interim title and whenever Jose Aldo is ready then that fight can happen.”
Aldo reportedly injured a rib during a training session last week and Brazilian doctors diagnosed him with a fracture. No more than a day later, UFC officials announced that the injury wasn’t a fracture, merely a bone bruise to his rib and cartilage injury. A contingency plan was put into place, however, and Mendes was put on deck in the case that Aldo couldn’t go on with the fight.
McGregor (17-2) has history with Mendes (17-2). The two 145-pound fighters jawed back and forth on a BT Sport interview last year, and the thought of a fight between the two began to draw interest thereafter.
UFC 189 is scheduled to take place on Saturday July 11 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
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