By now, everyone knows the story. At UFC 189 on July 11 in Las Vegas, medical clearance permitting, Jose Aldo will be defending his UFC Featherweight Championship against his biggest career rival to date, “The Notorious” Conor McGregor. What we didn’t know was how the two fighters picked to be ready to fill-in felt — until now.
Late Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning, Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar, respectively, took to social media to react to the news that one of them would be on standby to fight McGregor for an interim UFC 145-pound title at the 7/11 pay-per-view in Las Vegas.
Needless to say, each guy had very different reactions.
UFC President Dana White announced on Wednesday that if for some reason Aldo cannot compete as scheduled, it will be former two-time title contender Chad “Money” Mendes who will step-up on short notice to fight “The Notorious” Conor McGregor for the temporary title belt.
Upon hearing the news that he was passed over, despite compiling a 4-0 record since losing a closely fought unanimous decision to Aldo back in February of 2013, Edgar certainly didn’t get “The Answer” he was hoping for.
“Disappointed I wasn’t the stand by guy,” wrote Edgar on Twitter. “Felt it should of been me, think a lot of you feel the same. Thanks for all the support.”
Meanehile, Mendes, the guy chosen over Edgar as the fighter on hold waiting to find out if he has a shot at an interim title and a pay-per-view main event payday, has gone 1-0 in his last fight, losing to Aldo via hard-fought decision in the fight prior to that in what was a rematch from their first fight, where Aldo beat Mendes by knockout back in January of 2012.
Regardless of the statistical fairness, or lack thereof, in this instance, “Money” Mendes is all smiles about the decision made by the UFC brass.
“Everything happens for a reason and I ain’t no bitch,” wrote Mendes on Twitter. “Haha, let’s do this baby!”
Mendes then closed out his “tweet” with the always-popular “hash-tags,” which read: “#IllSaveThisShow” (I’ll Save This Show), “#AnytimeAnyPlace” (Anytime Any Place) and “#HatersGonnaHate” (Haters Gonna Hate).
For now, Edgar and Mendes could both be getting worked up over nothing, as there is still a legitimate chance that Aldo will be cleared to fight, and the UFC 189 main event will come off as planned, with Aldo defending his UFC Featherweight Championship against McGregor on Saturday, July 11, 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Disappointed I wasn't the stand by guy. Felt it should of been me, think a lot of you feel the same. Thanks for all the support.
— Frankie Edgar (@FrankieEdgar) June 25, 2015
Everything happens for a reason and I ain't no bitch!! Haha LETS DO THIS BABY!!! #illsavethisshow #anytimeanyplace #hatersgonnahate
— chad mendes (@chadmendes) June 25, 2015
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