Judgment day could come on Tuesday for Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor.
Aldo is expected to train and make a final decision on whether he’ll defend his UFC featherweight title against McGregor over a week from now at UFC 189.
The reigning UFC featherweight champion injured his ribs during a sparring session nearly a week ago. Initial reports from Brazilian doctors were that Aldo had suffered a fractured rib, which would likely knock him out of the highly anticipated championship bout.
However, a second opinion from American doctors revealed Aldo’s rib wasn’t fractured. It was a bone bruise and cartilage injury, proving once again that Uncle Dana knows best.
Two-division Jungle fight champion Jonas Bilharinho, Aldo’s training partner, told Ariel Helwani during an appearance on The MMA Hour that a final decision could be made on Tuesday:
I think he will probably fight. And I hope so. I will be with him on Tuesday to see what he’s capable of doing during training or not, but my opinion right now is that he’s going to fight. I’m going to be optimistic about it because Aldo wants this fight so bad. I think this fight will probably happen.
Bilharinho, who was brought into Aldo’s camp to mimic the awkward style of McGregor, called Tuesday the “big day.”
The UFC has already revealed its contingency plan if Aldo is unable to compete next Saturday night. Top featherweight contender Chad Mendes has been alerted to be on standby to step in as a late replacement for an interim title fight against McGregor, depending on Aldo’s health.
But as of now, Aldo is still set to defend to his throne at UFC 189.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is theMMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
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