Jose Aldo has pulled out of his fight with Conor McGregor next week in Las Vegas, with Chad Mendes stepping in to fight McGregor for the UFC Interim Featherweight Title.
Mendes steps in to fight McGregor and will pose a different challenge to that the Dubliner would have expected to face from Aldo. The American had a stellar wrestling career in college and was twice voted as an NCAA All American.
He has fought 19 times as a professional, losing only twice in his career. Those losses have both come against Jose Aldo. The first loss came in January 2012, when he was knocked out in the first round. The second loss happened last October in Rio de Janeiro as the fight went the distance. The 25 minute classic was widely acknowledged as the best fight of 2014.
Since his loss to Aldo last year, Mendes has fought once with a first round knockout victory over Ricardo Lamas.
Mendes is currently ranked second and ahead of McGregor in the Featherweight standings. The winner will become UFC's Interim Featherweight Champion and will fight Jose Aldo later this year.
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