A major featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor has been confirmed for UFC 189 in Las Vegas on July 11th during the promotions annual ‘International Fight Week’ festivities.
McGregor confirmed the news himself yesterday during a special fan Q&A prior to the UFC 183 weigh-ins.
‘The Notorious’ booked his title shot after stopping Dennis Siver by second round TKO earlier this month in Boston. That was his fifth victory in a row inside the Octagon, with four of those wins coming by way of stoppage due to strikes.
While McGregor has built an impressive record so far, he’s still got some way to go if he wants to match Aldo who hasn’t lost a fight in almost nine years and will be looking for the eighth successful defence of his 145lb title in July.
Nevertheless, while Aldo has proven himself time and time again in the Octagon, it’s McGregor who is currently the bigger star with his outspoken, charismatic personality outside of the cage making an instant connection with fans, leading to his last fight drawing a record breaking 2.7 million viewers on FOX Sports 1.
Despite now facing the toughest test of his career McGregor was brimming with confidence when he addressed fans yesterday about the upcoming fight.
“I’m going to rip that Brazilian’s head off,” McGregor said. “I’m calm, composed and I’m ruthless. This is just another man in my way. I feel he cannot finish his dinner, let alone an opponent. If it goes to five rounds, I’ll be more than ready. But it just takes one clean connection from me and it’s done. That’s proven.”
UFC 189 will mark the start of a hectic week of Octagon action in July, with the following day featuring a ‘Fight Night’ card which will most likely also take place in Las Vegas, while there’s another as yet unannounced ‘Fight Night’ scheduled for July 15th and then another in Glasgow, Scotland booked for July 18th.
