Aldo-McGregor to headline UFC 194 in Vegas

Published on Monday, 8/10/15, at 11:36 p.m. Eastern.

The long-awaited fight between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor will take place on Dec. 12 in Las Vegas as the main event for UFC 194. Aldo, the long-time featherweight champion, was forced to withdraw from his UFC 189 showdown against ‘The Notorious’ due to a rib injury sustained less than three weeks before the scheduled scrap.

With Aldo out, McGregor scored a second-round knockout of Chad Mendes to win the interim featherweight strap.

Before the UFC 189 cancellation, Aldo was a short favorite vs. McGregor. However, the Irish star is now a -175 ‘chalk’ vs. the Brazilian, who is a +155 underdog. The ‘over/under’ is 2.5 rounds (‘over’ -120).

The original target date was Dec. 5, but the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Vegas wasn’t available. Therefore, the UFC explored using Dallas Cowboys Stadium with Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey also on the card.

But according to a Yahoo Sports report, Dana White revealed that the MGM Grand “moved heaven and earth” to get the fight on Dec. 12. Therefore, Rousey and Tate won’t be on this card. Also, the UFC won’t have to compete with any other sports events. On Dec. 5, the UFC would’ve been going up against the ACC and Big Ten Championship games.