UFC 189 Fight Card Update: Conor McGregor Says Jose Aldo Should Be Stripped Of Title Belt
Conor McGregor will not be fighting Jose Aldo in UFC 189 anymore but he still has something to say about the UFC Featherweight Champion. The Irishman thinks the fighter, also known as "Scarface," must be stripped of his belt following his withdrawal from their upcoming fight in July.
With Aldo out of the match, McGregor is left to fight Chad Mendes in an interim title shot, something "The Celtic Tiger" is unhappy about.
"I don't know whether he'll be back," McGregor said, during the media conference for the upcoming UFC 189 event. "Like I said he's gone running, and I don't think he'll be back."
The 28-year-old UFC Featherweight Champion opted to pull out of the fight after he injured his rib while training for the match last week. Initial reports said he suffered a fractured rib but the UFC later clarified that he only had a bruised rib and cartilage.
At that time, UFC President Dana White decided that Mendes will fill in for Aldo should doctors rule him out of the match. Despite his injuries, the Brazilian expressed his intent to continue with the match to defend his belt but something must have happened that made Aldo change his mind.
It appears Aldo did fracture his rib after all, as seen in the X-rays released to Combate.
White expressed his disappointment during the media conference but he assured that unifying the belts in the future will happen when Aldo has fully recovered.
For McGregor, though, Aldo does not deserve his title belt anymore.
"If a man pussies out, and he's pussied out time and time again, (then he should be stripped)," said the Irish fighter. "He's pulled out of contests time and time again."
McGregor added, "I mean, the medical records state he is fit to fight, so there's no more questions. If you're fit to fight and you're not going to fight, the belt rightfully should be stripped, and this (should be) for the regular featherweight belt."
The Irish fighter is also questioning if Aldo really wanted to face him in the first place. He said that he saw "fear" in Aldo's eyes, reported Sherdog.
"I looked into his eyes, and I knew: This motherf---er doesn't want to be here," said McGregor. "He doesn't want it the way I want it. So that was that."
But Aldo, being the fighter that he is, won't tolerate the scathing remarks that McGregor has been telling the press.
In a statement sent to Combate, (translation courtesy of MMA Fighting), he said, "If he beats Chad Mendes, the only thing he will have is a toy belt to show his drunk friends in his country's bars, because that's what an interim belt represents to me: a toy. I am the champion."
The Irish mixed martial artist will face Mendes in UFC 189 on July 11 to decide who will be the interim UFC Featherweight Champion.
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