JOSE ALDO WILL be out of action until October if test results confirm that he suffered a fractured rib in training yesterday.
That’s according to Aldo’s coach Andre Pederneiras, after reports emerged last night that the UFC featherweight champion had sustained the injury during a sparring session.
Aldo is due to defend his belt against Irish star Conor McGregor in one of the most hotly-anticipated MMA bouts in history at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on 11 July.
“[Aldo] cried. He wants this fight bad, everybody invested a lot in this,” Pederneiras told Combate. “I was with him the whole afternoon. He’s heartbroken. He wants to fight anyway. Now we have to wait for the exam results. Aldo is in deep pain.
“If the fracture is really confirmed, Aldo will have to stop training, do nothing for three or four weeks until it’s fixed, and then he would be able to do any exercise without forcing his rib. And then he would need the normal time to do a training camp: three months. I believe this fight wouldn’t happen before October.”
A source close to McGregor’s camp told The42 this morning that “it’s not looking good” but Aldo hasn’t yet been officially ruled out of the fight. Alternative options have already been discussed but, for now at least, “everything else is just speculation and rumours”.
Several other high-profile UFC fighters including ex-lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Donegal’s Joseph Duffy — the last man to defeat McGregor — have already expressed their interest in replacing Aldo at UFC 189 if the champion is forced to withdraw.
