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Jose Aldo continues to feel unthreatened by Conor McGregor

With ribs healing, featherweight champion nears start of training for unification bout

Aldo vs. McGregor

AP

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo faces off against title challenger Conor McGregor on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015, as UFC President Dana White tries to separate them during a UFC fan event at the Convention Center in Dublin, Ireland.

With hundreds of fighters in town last month for UFC’s International Fight Week, featherweight champion Jose Aldo was a most curious absence.

Many assumed the promotion didn’t welcome the top-rated pound-for-pound fighter in the world after he pulled out of the weekend’s headlining event against Conor McGregor with a rib injury. Turns out, Aldo had no interest in attending.

He prefers not to watch future opponents, and wasn’t going to make an exception for archrival McGregor and two-time former adversary Chad Mendes.

“I don’t want to see Conor fight anybody,” Aldo said Tuesday with his trainer Andre Pederneiras translating. “But a lot of friends called me and talked to me, (said), ‘You’re going to kill this guy for sure.’”

Let the war of words re-engage between Aldo and McGregor ahead of their newly scheduled fight date. The much anticipated and delayed featherweight championship match will serve as the main event at UFC 194 on Dec. 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

McGregor earned the right to keep the bout by winning the interim featherweight title via second-round TKO over Mendes, who replaced Aldo less than three weeks before the fight. Aldo expected the result, another reason why he didn’t care to catch the bout.

“I knew before the fight that Conor had won because Chad didn’t have time to train hard,” Aldo said. “He received the news 18 days before the fight. He needed to cut weight, not train hard. I know he was hunting, not training hard at the gym. I know everything that happened.”

Pederneiras, who did watch the fight, agreed. The founder of the famed Nova Uniao gym in Rio de Janeiro questioned whether the performance truly proved McGregor belonged at the top of the division.

Click to enlarge photo

Conor McGregor sends Chad Mendes to the mat with a left to win by TKO in the third round of their featherweight title fight at UFC 189 Saturday, July 11, 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mendes controlled the opening nine minutes by taking McGregor down at will but eventually tired out and left himself open to a lethal punching combination.

“He lost before the fight, before he goes in the octagon because for sure he can’t be prepared for this fight,” he said.

“But if you give him three months to prepare, I put all my money on Chad Mendes for sure.”

UFC President Dana White swore off talking about Aldo after McGregor’s victory. Some had previously accused White of disrespecting Aldo after he referred to the champion’s injury as bruising and cartilage damage in defiance of the doctors who diagnosed a broken rib.

White called the reports “despicable”. But any ill feelings vanished two weeks later when White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta went to dinner with Aldo in Rio before UFC 190.

“Both sides talked a lot about this thing, and I saw he’s done disrespecting me,” Aldo said. “It was just a misunderstanding about the communications is the problem in this situation. I don’t have any problem with Dana or Lorenzo.”

Miscommunication has plagued Aldo on multiple occasions recently. He inadvertently started another maelstrom when he vowed not to follow the ban on IVs for rehydration after weigh-ins as part of the UFC’s new drug-testing program.

But Aldo says his comments were made in jest, and the translation for Portuguese to English exacerbated the confusion.

“He was just making a joke in the meeting, and then he’s reminded all the time about that,” Pederneiras said. “Everyone knows that if they see the rules, he’ll do exactly what he needs to do.”

Aldo actually believes the new rules could benefit him at UFC 194. McGregor is much larger, which makes it tougher for him to rehydrate after getting down to the 145-pound limit.

“I prefer both guys after the weigh-in, have a camera for 24 hours before the fight and see everything they both do before the fight,” Pederneiras said. “I know Aldo will not put IV for sure because he doesn’t need that but I don’t know about Conor. How much weight will he make back without the IV? He’ll probably cut 30 pounds, and Aldo just 15. Who do you think needs the IV more?”

McGregor condemned Aldo the most for his UFC 189 cancelation. The Irish star accused the champion of running away, and advocated stripping his title.

Aldo took none of the statements seriously.

“For me, he’s just a joker,” Aldo said. “I have a lot of pain. I’m still like a baby in my bed because I can’t move too much. I always need help from my wife and my friends to move my body.”

Aldo tried everything to salvage the original matchup, including a blood transfusion into the broken rib, but saw no improvement. He hasn’t resumed training yet, but will begin soon.

Aldo said Fertitta gave him specialized protective gear for his ribs, but he would otherwise prepare the same way. He might even watch McGregor’s win over Mendes, as much he doesn’t think it’s necessary.

“I don’t know if Conor is good for the sport but for me he’s good for sure,” Aldo said. “I want to see more opponents come to my weight class to fight with me like him and talk too much because it puts a lot more money in my pocket.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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