NEVER A DULL moment.
At one stage on Tuesday it seemed like we were going to lose both of our SBG fighters from the UFC 189 card. As it turned out, we’ve ended up gaining one.
The news that Gunnar Nelson’s original opponent, John Hathaway, had withdrawn due to injury was soon followed by reports that there were doubts about Jose Aldo too.
There was a bit of uncertainty and confusion when we learned that the UFC featherweight champion injured his rib in a sparring session while preparing to fight Conor McGregor in Las Vegas on 11 July.
Thirty-six hours later, Conor’s title fight is still scheduled to go ahead, Gunnar has got himself a new opponent and now Cathal Pendred has joined those two on the bill as well. It’s funny how things work out.
It was Tuesday afternoon when we learned that Aldo had more or less pulled out. But after seeing some medical specialists and, perhaps more significantly, being reminded of the cheque he’d be walking away from, now he’s back in. The last couple of days have certainly passed by in a bit of a haze, it would be fair to say.
It’s still Aldo for now, but if it turns out that he’s unable to compete when the time comes, Chad Mendes is in line to step in and fight Conor for an interim title instead.
From our perspective, it’s just nice that we’ve got something concrete and definite ahead of us again. Whether the opponent is Jose Aldo or Chad Mendes, either way it’s for a UFC belt at 145lbs in Las Vegas on 11 July.
At SBG we’ve become renowned for doing things a little differently in terms of some of the phrases we use, and one of those is ‘There is no opponent’. We never tailor our preparations based on opponents and this is sort of like the most extreme version of that you can think of.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission could stop this fight against Aldo on weigh-in day — the day before the fight. That’s when the pre-fight medicals are done. Aldo might still want it but the doctor can say no if he doesn’t believe he’s fit to compete. Then it’s basically out of the hands of Aldo, ourselves and the UFC. Enter Chad Mendes.
Mendes has been asked to make weight and he’ll be there, so it could be him stepping on the scales instead of Aldo for all we know. That kind of thing happens often at small regional shows, but this is for a UFC belt. That’s no big deal for us, though. It’s kind of exciting, to be honest. Who’s going to be on the scales when we turn up to weigh in? We won’t know until the day itself.
For most people, switching between two different types of opponent like that would be an absolute nightmare. But it would be hypocritical of us to complain about that and allow it to have an impact, so we’re staying true to our regular philosophy when it comes to opponents. And I believe Conor will end up fighting both of these guys at some point anyway, so what difference does it make?
Ultimately, a man with two arms and two legs will be standing across the octagon from Conor on 11 July. Whether that man’s name is Jose or Chad, nothing changes for us. I’m confident that Conor has the solution to both problems. At this level of mixed martial arts, I believe a fighter should be ready for any opponent at the drop of a hat.
It was UFC president Dana White who called me and asked how we felt about Chad Mendes stepping in to fight Conor for the belt. Conor was sleeping at the time so I walked into his room and told him it could be Mendes instead. He opened one eye, said ‘They’re all the same’ and then went back to sleep. That’s as far as any negotiation went.
What did we do when the news about Aldo’s injury broke? We went to the TUF gym, as usual, and Conor had what I believe was his best sparring session since we’ve been here in Las Vegas. Instead of expending our energy on speculation and rumours, we continued as normal and 24 hours later things were back on track.
If Aldo was going to be out, the options were to postpone the fight until later in the year or bring in a different opponent. Both were discussed, but Conor is driven by competition. The UFC mentioned a September date but I knew realistically that if Aldo’s rib injury was bad, September wouldn’t be realistic. At best it would be October.
That would leave Conor on the sidelines for nine months. Some fighters are satisfied to sit out for a year when they’ve got a title shot ahead, but that’s not something we wanted to do. Maybe people think we’re crazy because if Conor lost to a replacement opponent then that guy would overtake him in the running for a title shot. We don’t look at things that way. I believe Conor is ready for whoever the UFC put in there and we have to be able to back that up by accepting all challengers.
People will assume that we’re going to be introducing a lot more wrestling to our training sessions now, given the calibre of Chad Mendes in that department, but our preparations actually aren’t going to change at all. I was pretty convinced that Aldo was going to play a wrestling game anyway. There’s a reason why most of Conor’s fights end in first-round knockouts and Aldo’s go to a decision.
On top of that, it’s an MMA fight. We’re MMA fighters, not kickboxers, so we cover all areas of mixed martial arts. We have wrestlers, grapplers and strikers here. This training camp hasn’t been geared towards an orthodox Muay Thai fighter. The aim of the camp has been to make Conor better than he was in his last fight. And we’ve achieved that.
The opponent never matters and Cathal Pendred is further proof of that. He’s been harassing the UFC about getting a fight at short notice — I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had offered to step in for Aldo! — so he’s another example of somebody who’s secure enough in their skillset to take on any challenge. Cathal has stepped in to fight John Howard and he’ll be arriving in Vegas in the next couple of days. It’ll be great to have him here.
It’s the very same for Gunnar Nelson. His fight was actually changed while he was asleep. He woke up late that day, I told him he had a new opponent and instead of asking who it was (Brandon Thatch), he just said ‘Oh, okay’ and then went about making his breakfast. I’m very proud of the guys for being like that.
It’s a bit of a throwback to the early days. My first ever fight was in England and the opponent just didn’t bother showing up. They found a guy in the audience who was a good grappler so I fought him instead. It’s one of the lessons of MMA to make sure you don’t get too obsessed about who you’re facing, because it could change on the scales.
This stinks…Guarantee that Aldo is not fighting..Fans been strung along like fools
Honestly I wouldn’t be that upset if it was Mendes , if Aldo can’t make it , it’s still very very interesting so long as the replacement is Mendes or Edgar , he’s finally going up against someone in the top 3 that people keep saying he is never going to beat. People would be strung along if it was Nate Diaz or something.
I think he should have been fighting Mendes anyway
If it is Mendez it will silence people who say McGregor didn’t fight either Mendez or Edgar. Everyone wants to see the Aldo fight but at least we know there is a reputable contingency available.
It’s nothing to do with the UFC if Aldo fights it’s up to the Nevada state athletic commission whether he is cleared to fight or not.
interim title? for a rib injury?
That’s what I’ve been thinking. Early reports said he’d fight in October (at the earliest) that hardly warrants an interim title fight.
If the fight was pulled, Connor would be mad to fight anyone before aldo.
It’s been a long time to this point since Aldo has fought, if it drags on until October or later then an interim belt is surely warranted, especially in such a stacked division
He would be mad to but I also think the Mendes fight is the one that should have been booked in the first place.
It’s only been 9 months!!!!
And with this injury it goes over a year, it’s not a crazy length but it may just about justify the interim belt. I’m sure it has a lot to with keeping silverware up for grabs as it’s headlining over a genuine title bout
So now he has to prepare for 2 different fighters while the other 2 prepare solely for Connor.
read the article Tom.
Velasquez needed surgery after already being out for a year before they made an interim bout. Seems a bit harsh on Aldo.
Finally some clarity. Its been like sitting in an STI clinic for the past 2 days waiting on results
I have a suspicion that he is out though. And Mendes is in. But they don’t want to make it public in case a load of Irish fans, 35% of the ticket holders apparently, don’t go.
But once we get a title fight I don’t care! :)
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” – Conor McGregor
I think you may want to check your sources there
@kevin I sincerely hope you’re being ironic.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that you can never know if they are genuine.” –Abraham Lincoln
“You shall not pass” – connor mcgregor.
“I’LL GIVE A SWIFT KICK IN THE GEE TO SORT HIM OUT”……Conor McGregor
Abraham Lincoln was wise for his era
“Eat, sleep, rave, repeat”
-Mahatma Gandhi.
“Kick her in the fanny Kelly” – Mother Theresa.
“Get Rich or Die Tryin’” – Michael D Higgins.
“KY is your friend” – Supergran
”50 bags on tik till Thursday boyiz”
- Robert Marley
@ supergran ky jelly is your friend
Stephen I get the feeling you’re older than myself from your reply.
lol @gunner !! “you have a new opponnent” “mkay”
those were probably the only words he spoke that day
Why was aldo having gym wars so close to the fight?
because he’s training for a fight.
You’re not supposed to do heavy sparring so close to a fight.
Who said it was heavy. His partner slipped on the mat and hit him in the wrong spot
How is a body shot the wrong spot?
I think the world champions training camp may be just a tiny bit less clueless than you think. They may just know a thing or two about what they’re doing.
Actually Aldo has a history of being injured in training camps, more than any other fighter in the UFC so maybe he is a bit clueless.
So did he fail the drug test ?
Frankie Edgar should have got the call
wouldnt fancy hvng big money on aldo
pure rubbish if Aldo isn’t fit leave the fight until he is 100% no excuses. This way it all looks like a money making racket and i doubt mcgregor wants to fight anyone that isn’t 100% fit. Cancel the whole event
Aine fighters fight with undisclosed injuries all the time. Anderson Silva defended his title against Chael Sonnen with a fractured rib before. Tito Ortiz has fought through ebola a few times. Aldo has a bruised rib. It will be painful but unless its broken he will be ok.
That’s easy enough to say if you’ve not spent 1000s on flights , hotels and tickets……
It’s Aldos decision, I’ve feels he is OK then fair enough once he passes a medical.
Probably sound really stupid but how can it still be a title fight if its McGregor and Mendes?
They would more than likely set up an interim title, while Aldo is injured. Say if mcgregor fought mendez, than the winner of that would fight aldi for the proper title .
Ridiculous, who he will fight at the weigh in. Aldo should get the go ahead from Nevada in advance! We want Conor to fight Aldo now! There is no replacement. Connor will destoy the midget with his boxing and leg kicks , his reach. Conor should fight mended and favor together
He has a bruised rib by the time the fight comes around which is over two weeks he will be fine. He should have all his prep done so now he just needs to make weight. Its mma id say 90% of fighters go into a fight carrying an injury.
It’s great to get the experts views in the comments, someone should tell aldo that he doesn’t know how to prepare for a fight, or that Dana could run the UfC way better….
Good luck JK against whoever you get matched up to, an interim title would be a massive achievement in itself and the big prize will come in time.
I hope this isn’t the UFC pull a fast one. Keep McGreggor on the card, have to other SBG fighters on the card to keep Irish people buying tickets and flights then pull McGreggor the day before