The UFC featherweight championship will be on the line July 11 in Las Vegas, but Aldo’s injury report is still controversial. Initial reports indicated that Aldo fractured his ribs in training, but the UFC later announced that he had bruised ribs and was cleared to fight.
According to Nova Uniao head coach Andre Pederneiras, Aldo’s medical reports are conflicting. Brazilian doctors concluded that Aldo has fractured ribs, but American doctors say it’s not broken.
“There’s medical report here and an evaluation there. I’m not a doctor to say which one is correct,” Pederneiras told the media after Shooto Brazil 55 in Rio de Janeiro. “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.”
Pederneiras says the UFC didn’t pressure them to take the fight despite the injury, but will decide to take Aldo off UFC 189 if he’s unable to cut weight properly.
“If he can’t do any exercise to cut weight, he won’t fight at all,” he 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.”
Pederneiras admitted that the media revealing the news was an issue for Aldo, who could enter a fight with his opponent knowing he has an injury. However, “Dede” is confident that Aldo beats McGregor anyway.
“I think Aldo is so superior it won’t make the difference. If he goes to the fight, he will win,” Pederneiras said. “I won’t put him in a situation that one punch can end the fight.”
“We don’t know who leaked this information. We didn’t leak it,” he continued. “We took him to the hospital and a lot of people saw him there. I told the matchmaker he was injured and under treatment, but it was on the media already. We believe someone in the hospital leaked this information to the media.”
If Aldo can’t make it to UFC 189, Chad Mendes will step in and fight McGregor for the interim belt, but Pederneiras says it makes no sense to create an interim title.
“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.”
The UFC featherweight championship will be on the line July 11 in Las Vegas, but Aldo’s injury report is still controversial. Initial reports indicated that Aldo fractured his ribs in training, but the UFC later announced that he had bruised ribs and was cleared to fight.
According to Nova Uniao head coach Andre Pederneiras, Aldo’s medical reports are conflicting. Brazilian doctors concluded that Aldo has fractured ribs, but American doctors say it’s not broken.
“There’s medical report here and an evaluation there. I’m not a doctor to say which one is correct,” Pederneiras told the media after Shooto Brazil 55 in Rio de Janeiro. “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.”
Pederneiras says the UFC didn’t pressure them to take the fight despite the injury, but will decide to take Aldo off UFC 189 if he’s unable to cut weight properly.
“If he can’t do any exercise to cut weight, he won’t fight at all,” he 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.”
Pederneiras admitted that the media revealing the news was an issue for Aldo, who could enter a fight with his opponent knowing he has an injury. However, “Dede” is confident that Aldo beats McGregor anyway.
“I think Aldo is so superior it won’t make the difference. If he goes to the fight, he will win,” Pederneiras said. “I won’t put him in a situation that one punch can end the fight.”
“We don’t know who leaked this information. We didn’t leak it,” he continued. “We took him to the hospital and a lot of people saw him there. I told the matchmaker he was injured and under treatment, but it was on the media already. We believe someone in the hospital leaked this information to the media.”
If Aldo can’t make it to UFC 189, Chad Mendes will step in and fight McGregor for the interim belt, but Pederneiras says it makes no sense to create an interim title.
“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.”
