We’re now less than two weeks away from Jose Aldo’s featherweight title fight with Conor McGregor at UFC 189 in Las Vegas, and with the full extent of the champions rib injury still unclear the fight currently hangs in the balance.
There had been some talk that the Nevada State Athletic Commission could step in to prevent Aldo from competing, but in an interview with MMAJunkie, NSAC’s executive Director Bob Bennett explains that’s not necessarily the case.
“That’s for the UFC,” Bennett said. “They’ll go ahead and that will be reflected in his medical records, and that’s also reflected in his pre-fight questionnaire.
“So if he’s hurt and he can’t fight, he’ll reveal it to us, or he should. I understand about the injury he has, and I understand they’re taking a look at it, and they’re evaluating him, and those are all questions that really should be directed at the UFC, because we’re working hand-in-glove with them. At this point and time, it’s not a regulatory issue.”
Prior to being granted his license to fight Aldo will have to undergo some rudimentary testing and fill out a questionnaire, but unless that raises a red flag it won’t go any further.
“He comes in, he fills out a pre-fight questionnaire, and my ringside physicians go through their normal physical examinations,” Bennett explained. “If he can’t pass the normal physical examination that’s done, we would get into additional questioning. But anything prior to that, if nothing’s revealed to us that prohibits him from fighting, just like every athlete has some type of injury prior to an event, whether it’s baseball, basketball, or football – everybody’s injured to a certain extent. But if he’s hurt to the extent that he can’t fight, I’m sure the UFC is going to let us know, and bring it to our attention.”
So, if Aldo is determined to compete – and the fact that he’s looking at by far the biggest payday of his life (rumored to be several million dollars dependent on PPV sales) suggests that he will – then it doesn’t seem as if he’d have too much difficulty getting through NSAC’s testing even if his injury is worse than he’s letting on.
As we’ve mentioned before though, the real problem for Aldo may be whether he’ll still be physically able to undergo the grueling weight cutting process down to 145lbs in the days before the fight given that it’s something he’s struggled with in the past.
