No, we won’t get to see UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo take on arch nemesis Conor McGregor this weekend. The Brazilian was injured during sparring, and after the news leaked to the media, there was no chance the most-anticipated fight of the year was still going to go on, despite UFC president Dana White’s insistence it would.
Instead of seeing Aldo vs. McGregor, which had “Fight of the Year” written all over it, now we get to see McGregor fight his first wrestler in Chad Mendes, who took the fight with the Irishman on just two week’s notice. The two will now compete for the interim featherweight crown in the main event of UFC 189, which takes place this Saturday at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
But while it’s not Aldo vs. McGregor, Mendes vs. McGregor is still an amazing fight, and one fight fans are going to love when it takes place this weekend.
Aldo vs. McGregor was going to be great because of the beef the two had with one another, but also because stylistically it was going to pit the top two strikers in the division against one another with the title on the line. The fight was going to be awesome, and it still will be if McGregor defeats Mendes this weekend, as that would earn him a fight against Aldo later this year.
Mendes vs. McGregor, though, is, in my eye anyways, just as good of a fight as Aldo vs. McGregor would have been, at least as far as styles go. Mendes is a wrestler and we all want to see McGregor’s wrestling tested, so this fight will answer any questions we have about it. In addition, Mendes has extremely heavy hands, and we haven’t seen McGregor’s chin tested yet inside the Octagon — but we very well may this weekend.
Oftentimes there are injuries in MMA, and big fights get scrapped. Most of the time, the replacement matchups are a lot worse. But in this case, the UFC is actually lucking out, because Mendes is an elite fighter himself, and as far as replacement fights go, it’s really hard to say that a better one exists than Mendes vs. McGregor.
The real disappointment lies in the lack of time to promote this replacement matchup. Sure, Mendes and McGregor have had a few choice words for one another, but overall the promotion is lacking because of the short notice factor. At this point, both fighters are just focused on cutting weight and making 145 lbs on the dot so this title fight can become official, not talking trash to one another. So while it’s disappointing that the promotion for this replacement fight hasn’t been there, at least compared to the original fight, there are good reasons behind it.
At the end of the day, though, this is going to be a fantastic fight. On one hand, you have the brash, cocky McGregor, who has been talking the talk but who needs to walk the walk. And on the other hand, you have Mendes, who has proven himself to be the next-best guy in the division not named Aldo (and maybe Frankie Edgar). Put these two together inside the Octagon and you have the makings of a fantastic fight that is going to answer a lot of questions.
I know you’re probably disappointed that Aldo pulled out, and who isn’t? Everyone wanted to see the fight with McGregor, after all. But this fight with Mendes is going to be just as good, so don’t miss it when it goes down this weekend.
• Conor McGregor vs. Chad Mendes (UFC Interim Featherweight Championship)
Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.
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UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor (formerly UFC 189: Aldo vs. McGregor) takes place on July 11, 2015 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC 189 will be.
