Conor McGregor vs Jose Aldo called off

IT was the fight the UFC world was waiting for. But after a lot of speculation and anticipation it definitely will not happen, president Dana White announced.

It’s official: Fight of the year is off

FEATHERWEIGHT champion Jose Aldo has officially withdrawn from next week’s UFC 189 fight card in Las Vegas and now Chad Mendes will face Conor McGregor for the interim belt on July 11 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

UFC president Dana White made the announcement on SportsCenter today.

Aldo suffered bruised ribs and cartilage damage from a kick in sparring over a week ago with immediate speculation on whether or not the incumbent champion would be able to compete at UFC 189.

The UFC announced just days ago that Aldo would remain in the bout, but in case he was forced out they secured No. 1 ranked featherweight contender Mendes as a backup so the main event could move forward with McGregor regardless of the opponent.

Now it appears Aldo’s injuries are severe enough that the 145-pound king is going to have to sit out what was expected to be the biggest card of the year.

“Andre Pederneiras, his coach, called and basically said that Aldo’s rib is too painful and he will not be fighting,” White said.

“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 (the belts).”

Mendes will now step in to face McGregor on just under two week’s notice although, according to the former NCAA All-American, as soon as he got the call from the UFC he began preparing as if he was already fighting on July 11.

“This is a fighter I’ve watched since he got in the UFC and a fighter I knew I would be facing very soon,” Mendes told FOX Sports.

Jose Aldo is officially out.

“So I’ve watched all of his fights, I’ve watched past fights before the UFC. I feel like he has a lot of holes in his game and I feel like my strengths fit right into that.

“This will be a fun night for me getting in there and getting to beat the crap out of Conor, getting a belt and getting paid. It’s going to be fun. There’s no doubt taking this fight on short notice. This is a guy I know I can beat.”

McGregor will now face Mendes with the interim title on the line in the main event of UFC 189 next weekend with welterweight champion Robbie Lawler facing Rory MacDonald in the co-main event.

Previously when Aldo’s injury was first reported, his coach Andre Pederneiras stated that if the featherweight champion was forced to pull out of the fight he would likely be sidelined until October. As of now there’s been no further word on when Aldo will be back, but he will be facing either Mendes or McGregor to unify the featherweight title when he returns.