Aldo: 'Interim belt is a toy Conor McGregor can show off in Irish pubs'

UFC featherweight Champion Jose Aldo, left, faces off against UFC featherweight title challenger Conor McGregor as UFC President Dana White tries to separate them during a UFC fan event.

Cormac Byrne

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has broken his silence after being forced to pull out of his title bout with Conor McGregor in Las Vegas over a rib injury.

It is the fifth time that Aldo has pulled out of a title decider and he hit back at McGregor's claim that he's not fighting because "he's scared for his life".

McGregor will now fight Californian Chad Mendes for an interim belt and Aldo claimed that he would not put his legacy on the line for money.

"If he beats Chad Mendes, the only thing he will have is a toy belt to show his friends, drunk in his country's bars, because that's what an interim belt represents to me: a toy. I am the champion," Aldo said in a statement. "The Octagon is my kingdom and there's place for only one king, which is me. If he wants to participate, he can be the joker he already is."

Read more

READ MORE:

Aldo also shared images of the x-ray on his ribs, which suggest that he had suffered a fracture. Last night, McGregor claimed he was going to take Aldo apart on July 11 if the fight had gone ahead.

"It's something I expected but I don't blame the man. I was going to f**king butcher him. Rip him limb from limb," he said.

While he would welcome a fight with Aldo, McGregor is unsure if the two will fight in the future.

"If he mans up we should most certainly get it on. I don't know if he'll be back, he's gone running. I don't think he'll be back," he said.