UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Brian Lawless
Brian Lawless
CONOR McGREGOR RETURNS to action in 10 days’ time against Chad Mendes in the main event at UFC 189 in Las Vegas.
However, the Irish MMA star has been forced to deal with the late withdrawal of yet another opponent, after UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo backed out of their title bout this morning due to injury.
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That’s nothing new for McGregor. In fact, of his last 10 opponents — dating back to 2011 — five have pulled out injured.
September 2011, Cage Warriors Fight Night 2
Swedish featherweight Niklas Backstrom was about to leave for the airport to head to Jordan to face McGregor when he “fell” and broke his hand. McGregor took on Norway’s Aaron Jahnsen in a lightweight bout instead. Despite fighting a much bigger opponent on short notice, McGregor picked up his first Cage Warriors win via first-round TKO. Backstrom has since joined McGregor in the UFC.
December 2012, Cage Warriors 51
Conor McGregor shows off the Cage Warriors featherweight and lightweight belts. Dolly ClewDolly Clew
McGregor became the Cage Warriors featherweight champion in June 2012 and was due to make his first defence of the title in Dublin against American Jim Alers — who’s now also in the UFC. Alers withdrew from the bout due to a hand injury so McGregor went on to fight — and defeat — Slovakian star Ivan Buchinger for the promotion’s vacant lightweight title instead. To Alers’ credit, however, he had been due to fight McGregor the previous September but it was the Irishman who pulled out because of a facial injury.
August 2013, UFC Fight Night 26
Following a spectacular win over Marcus Brimage in his UFC debut, McGregor was paired with Englishman Andy Ogle next. After the injured Ogle backed out, US prospect Max Holloway stepped in and took the Dubliner to the final bell for the first time in his career. Despite sustaining an ACL injury during the fight, McGregor was still victorious in Boston.
July 2014, UFC Fight Night 46
Headlining a UFC event for the first time, McGregor was set to take on Cole Miller in Dublin. A thumb injury forced the American to pull out and Brazil’s Diego Brandao was called in as a replacement. The bout lasted just over four minutes as McGregor made a triumphant return from injury in front of a raucous hometown crowd.
Conor McGregor en route to victory against Diego Brandao. Rodrigo Romos / INPHO
Rodrigo Romos / INPHO / INPHO
July 2015, UFC 189
Jose Aldo was scheduled to defend his UFC featherweight title against McGregor in the main event at UFC 189 in Las Vegas. The champion injured his rib 18 days before the bout and a week of uncertainty about his participation followed, until the Brazilian star officially withdrew and Chad Mendes took his place with just 10 days to go.
Conor McGregor has a long history of dealing with injury pull-outs
CONOR McGREGOR RETURNS to action in 10 days’ time against Chad Mendes in the main event at UFC 189 in Las Vegas.
However, the Irish MMA star has been forced to deal with the late withdrawal of yet another opponent, after UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo backed out of their title bout this morning due to injury.
That’s nothing new for McGregor. In fact, of his last 10 opponents — dating back to 2011 — five have pulled out injured.
September 2011, Cage Warriors Fight Night 2
Swedish featherweight Niklas Backstrom was about to leave for the airport to head to Jordan to face McGregor when he “fell” and broke his hand. McGregor took on Norway’s Aaron Jahnsen in a lightweight bout instead. Despite fighting a much bigger opponent on short notice, McGregor picked up his first Cage Warriors win via first-round TKO. Backstrom has since joined McGregor in the UFC.
December 2012, Cage Warriors 51
McGregor became the Cage Warriors featherweight champion in June 2012 and was due to make his first defence of the title in Dublin against American Jim Alers — who’s now also in the UFC. Alers withdrew from the bout due to a hand injury so McGregor went on to fight — and defeat — Slovakian star Ivan Buchinger for the promotion’s vacant lightweight title instead. To Alers’ credit, however, he had been due to fight McGregor the previous September but it was the Irishman who pulled out because of a facial injury.
August 2013, UFC Fight Night 26
Following a spectacular win over Marcus Brimage in his UFC debut, McGregor was paired with Englishman Andy Ogle next. After the injured Ogle backed out, US prospect Max Holloway stepped in and took the Dubliner to the final bell for the first time in his career. Despite sustaining an ACL injury during the fight, McGregor was still victorious in Boston.
July 2014, UFC Fight Night 46
Headlining a UFC event for the first time, McGregor was set to take on Cole Miller in Dublin. A thumb injury forced the American to pull out and Brazil’s Diego Brandao was called in as a replacement. The bout lasted just over four minutes as McGregor made a triumphant return from injury in front of a raucous hometown crowd.
July 2015, UFC 189
Jose Aldo was scheduled to defend his UFC featherweight title against McGregor in the main event at UFC 189 in Las Vegas. The champion injured his rib 18 days before the bout and a week of uncertainty about his participation followed, until the Brazilian star officially withdrew and Chad Mendes took his place with just 10 days to go.
There’s bad blood between McGregor and Mendes since this exchange on TV
Explainer: How Conor McGregor can become a UFC champ without actually beating the champ
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Conor McGregor MMA moving the goalposts UFC UFC 189