Dana White has anounced it. Aldo is too injured to fight. He will replaced by Chad Mendes (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in the McGregor fight two weeks from now. They will fight for the interim belt.
UFC president Dana White made the breaking announcement on the 8 PM ET edition of ESPN’s SportsCenter:
“Andre Pederneiras, his coach, called and basically said that Aldo’s rib is too painful, and he will not be fighting, So Chad Mendes now will fight Conor McGregor for the interim belt. 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 to unify.
“It’s his decision. I don’t feel great about it. We’ve spent a lot of money promoting this fight. A lot of people are excited about the fight, so it’s definitely disappointing.”
BREAKING: Jose Aldo pulls out of UFC 189. Conor McGregor will now fight Chad Mendes for interim title. pic.twitter.com/5LVM3AGZLV
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 1, 2015
