Conor McGregor SHOCKER – UFC 189 Breaking MMA News
By Barnaby “Mattress Man” Kellaway
The highly anticipated UFC 189 main event between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor is in serious jeopardy. Despite his injury, Jose Aldo says he has “every intention” of making the fight.
The statement came shortly after news broke about the injury, which was inflicted by Nova Uniao teammate Alcides Nunes. The 5-0 lightweight was mimicking the style of McGregor when he caught the champion with a spinning-back kick, causing him to be rushed to hospital with a bruised rib bone and cartilage injury.
Whilst it is good news to hear that Aldo has not pulled out completely, the fact that the UFC have not confirmed the fight is a worry. Instead they have put a contingency plan in to place: if Aldo is unable to compete then Chad Mendes, twice beaten by Aldo, will step in to fight the Irishman for the interim championship.
A statement reads, “UFC remains committed to delivering the featherweight and the welterweight championship fights at UFC 189 during UFC International Fight Week in Las Vegas”.
If the contingency plan is forced to go ahead then it would represent a huge blow for the UFC: Millions of dollars have been pumped in to the promotion of the fight it and it is due to serve as the centerpiece for international fight week.
It would also be a blow for McGregor, who many experts argue is a favorable match up with Aldo compared to Mendes. Their belief being that McGregor is clearly comfortable in a stand up fight, as he has excellent boxing and kicks, but he would struggle when faced with a wrestler like Mendes. “Money”, a former Pac-10 wrestler of the year, is unrelenting with his take downs and pressure from the top so if McGregor’s weakness really is his wrestling then Mendes will undoubtedly find him out.
Whilst a McGregor/Mendes title fight is incredibly alluring it is not what we have been waiting all this time for. Everyone involved with MMA, other than the boys over at Alpha Male, will be hoping that Jose Aldo can recover in time for the fight.
The good news is that even if he cannot recover in time, Conor McGregor will still be competing for a title.