Jose Aldo injured, questionable for UFC 189 bout with Conor McGregor

Jose Aldo

One of the most anticipated fights of the year – perhaps in recent  MMA history – may have to wait.

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo (25-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has suffered a rib injury and is questionable for his grudge match with rival Conor McGregor (17-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC).

Combate first confirmed the injury and reported Aldo suffered a fractured rib today during a training session, though the UFC hasn’t made a formal announcement. UFC officials and representatives from both fighters’ camps didn’t immediately respond to MMAjunkie’s request for comment.

UFC 189 takes place July 11 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Aldo vs. McGregor is slated for the headliner.

The bout actually took the main-event slot over another title fight: welterweight champion Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald. With Aldo vs. McGregor as the centerpiece of the show, the UFC reportedly spent millions of dollars on a flashy promotional video and five-country media tour (see the highlights below) to drum up interest for the mega-fight.

Aldo and McGregor, respectively ranked No. 1 and No. 6 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings, publicly bickered even before the fight was officially announced. UFC President Dana White recently said the event was on pace for a million pay-per-view buys, a mark reached only nine times in company history.

The latest UFC 189 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor – for featherweight title
• Champ Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald – for welterweight title
• Dennis Bermudez vs. Jeremy Stephens
• Gunnar Nelson vs. TBA
• Thomas Almeida vs. Brad Pickett

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)

• Matt Brown vs. Tim Means
• John Howard vs. Brandon Thatch
• Alex Garcia vs. Mike Swick
• Henry Briones vs. Cody Garbrandt

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 7 p.m. ET)

• Neil Seery vs. Louis Smolka
• Yosdenis Cedeno vs. Cody Pfister

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

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