Jose Aldo still on at UFC 189 – but Conor McGregor-Chad Mendes contingency in placehttp://mmajunkie.com/2015/06/jose-aldo-still-on-at-ufc-189-but-conor-mcgregor-chad-mendes-contingency-in-place"Jose Aldo is not out of his UFC 189 main event title defense against Conor McGregor. But the UFC has a backup plan in place.
In a statement released late Wednesday, the UFC said if Aldo (25-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) cannot defend his featherweight title against McGregor (17-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) next month, McGregor still will fight for a belt. In the event of Aldo’s withdrawal, McGregor will meet two-time title challenger Chad Mendes (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) for an interim belt.
The severity of Aldo’s injury, the UFC said in the statement, is not as bad as initially feared.
“In light of recent reports regarding the status of UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, UFC has received official medical confirmation from several doctors that Aldo did not suffer a broken rib,” the statement reads. “Following a review of the scans, it has been determined that the champion suffered a bone bruise to his rib and cartilage injury during training.
“With this news, Aldo has expressed that he has every intention of facing Conor McGregor at UFC 189.”
The UFC went on to deliver the contingency plan involving Mendes:
“While Aldo has indicated that he will compete in Las Vegas on July 11, UFC has confirmed a contingency plan. No.1 featherweight contender Chad Mendes will face McGregor for the interim UFC featherweight championship in the event Aldo cannot compete. UFC remains committed to delivering the featherweight and the welterweight championship fights at UFC 189 during UFC International Fight Week in Las Vegas.”....