Brace yourselves for severe disappointment – the latest word out of Brazil is that Jose Aldo has suffered a fractured rib in training, leaving his blockbuster title fight with Conor McGregor at UFC 189 on July 11th hanging in the balance.
Combate were first to report the story, though it’s not been officially confirmed at this stage. MMAFighting and FOX Sports 1 reporter Ariel Helwani has also confirmed that Aldo did suffer an injury, but at this moment in time he’s not pulled out of the fight.
If it is a fractured rib though, then that almost certainly means that the fight will have to be withdrawn from the event, which was set to be the focal point of the UFC’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas.
If the fight is cancelled it’s a nightmare come true for the UFC, with Dana White previously having billed it as the fight of the year while admitting that they’d spent more money promoting this fight than any other in the history of the company.
The two men have already been on a high-profile world tour that began in Brazil and ended in Ireland, while promotional videos have been coming in thick and fast, including a slick trailer that cost a cool $1.5 million.
UFC 189 does have a ready made main event replacement if worst does come to worst however, with a welterweight title encounter between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald already set for the co-main event of the evening. That’s a great fight, but after the unprecedented level of hype surrounding Aldo Vs McGregor anything other than that fight in the headline spot is going to be looked at as a massive letdown.
