UFC 189 took a huge hit last night, when news broke that UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has injured his rib in training for Conor McGregor. The news is yet to be solidly confirmed by the promotion, but every fighter with a Twitter account has been offering their services at UFC 189. ‘The Notorious’ is hot property and, belt or no belt, everyone wants to fight the Irish sensation in Las Vegas, the Mecca of the UFC’s Western conquests.
With all the rumours of who might be stepping up, or a potential interim belt going on the line, the obvious question is who gets the fight? Well, there are a few obvious candidates, none more than former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. ”The Answer’ is back in form after winning four straight in the featherweight division, defeating Urijah Faber, Cub Swanson, BJ Penn and Charles Oliveira.
Dana White may have overlooked Edgar in favor of Conor McGregor before, but will he do it again? Who else is there? ‘The California Kid’ said he’d replace Aldo on July 11th, but as mentioned he is coming off a loss. How about Dennis Bermudez calling for the fight on Twitter, although coming off a loss he is 7-2 at 145 pounds. Chad Mendes is a solid option, coming off a close loss to Jose Aldo himself, and since rebounding by knocking the mullet off of Ricardo Lamas in April.
Outside of those guys you really only have Max Holloway, who was beaten unanimously on the judge’s scorecards by ‘The Notorious’ in 2013 but has since scored six straight wins with five finishes.
Although the reigning champion has offered to fight with his injury, if it’s as severe as it sounds it’s probably not happening. So who do you want to see step in against Conor McGregor at UFC 189, in the absence of Jose Aldo?
