Conflicting reports swirling regarding Aldo's rib injury
The bizarre Jose Aldo injury saga continued Friday, and it appears his status for UFC 189 is still very much in doubt.
Conflicting reports are swirling regarding Aldo's rib injury, with Brazilian doctors claiming he has a fracture, while American doctors are saying he has deep bruising and cartilage damage.
"There's medical report here and an evaluation there. I'm not a doctor to say which one is correct," Aldo's coach Andre Pederneiras told MMAFighting.com's Guilherme Cruz on Friday following Shooto 55. "I know he's injured and this rib injury is painful. He's using anti-inflammatory and we will wait to see if he gets better. The fight is on, and we'll check him again next week.
"We will only have this answer next week," he continued. "He's under treatment. He did an injection and is under a PRP (platelet-rich plasma) treatment, and is waiting to get better. They take his blood, use only the good plasma, and inject it on the injury. The fight is 15 days away. Doctors say he will get better day after day. We can’t say how he will feel 15 days from now."
At this point, Aldo is penciled in to defend his title against brash Irishman Conor McGregor on July 11, but that could very well change if the longtime featherweight champion is unable to train or cut weight.
"If he can't do any exercise to cut weight, he won't fight at all," Pederneiras said. "That doesn't concern me at all.
"He's forbidden to do anything right now. If you move, the injury won't heal, so he needs to stay to some rest. He's used to pain but is feeling a lot of pain right now. It's hard to fight at 100 percent. But if he can take a punch and don’t feel the pain he's feeling right now … He broke his foot in the first round against 'Korean Zombie' and kept fighting. He’s used to pain. We'll only let him fight if he’s well."
With two-time title challenger Chad Mendes waiting in the wings to face McGregor if Aldo is unable to go, Pederneiras is hoping the UFC doesn't decide to create an interim title for a potential McGregor-Mendes matchup.
"The UFC is a private company and they make the decision that is better for the company," he said. "Aldo fought in October, nine months ago. The majority of the champions who didn't fight for any reason were out longer and they didn’t create an interim title. I don't think it’s cool, but it's a private company."