Jose Aldo: Injured ribs are 'great,' waiting for UFC to schedule Conor McGregor fight

Jose Aldo

RIO DE JANEIRO – Jose Aldo says he’s healthy and ready to unify the UFC featherweight championship with interim titleholder Conor McGregor as soon as possible.

Aldo (25-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and McGregor (18-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) were scheduled to fight for the 145-pound belt at UFC 189 on July 11. However, “Scarface” was forced out of the contest less than two weeks before the event when he suffered a rib injury in training.

Chad Mendes replaced Aldo in the contest and lost to McGregor via second-round TKO in an interim title matchup. The original fight was billed as one of the biggest in UFC history, but it didn’t go down due to Aldo’s injury.

Fortunately, McGregor won and set up what will arguably be an even more significant showdown with Aldo.

The specifics of when and where the fight will take place have yet to be determined, but Aldo said his ribs are recovered and he’ll be ready to go as soon as possible.

“My ribs are great,” Aldo said at a UFC 190 Fan Q&A in Brazil. “I’ve already come back to practice. It’s now just time to wait for UFC to set the fight.”

Aldo and McGregor exchanged many words prior to UFC 189. McGregor had continued his verbal assault following his interim title win and has said he’s not entirely confident the fight will happen because he feels Aldo is “scared.”

The Brazilian said McGregor’s victory over Mendes changed nothing about his approach to the fight. He said his strategy was set prior to the injury and only minor adjustments will be made when he’s finally locked inside the octagon with “The Notorious.”

“I already had a strategy; the strategy was ready,” Aldo said. “We only canceled the fight two weeks before. The strategy is ready. I think everything we practiced, we saw in Chad’s fight it would work. We have the path set for us and now we just have to enhance it.

UFC President Dana White has publicly stated his intention to bring Aldo vs. McGregor to the largest venue possible. Dallas’ AT&T Stadium has long been discussed to hold a UFC fight, but the proper matchup has never been in place.

The featherweight championship grudge match could be destined for one of North America’s largest venues, but nothing has been confirmed. Aldo said he has little concern about where the fight takes place, as long as McGregor is the one standing across from him.

“Everything he has shown since he came to the UFC was already expected,” Aldo said. “When we’re in the octagon I will beat him.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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