Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor Back On For Dec. 12 In Las Vegas

The year’s most anticipated MMA fight just got a new date.

A report from Yahoo! Sports arrived tonight with the all-important news that the awaited featherweight title unification bout between longtime champ Jose Aldo and interim champ Conor McGregor has been slated for December 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The fight had been teased for December 5 at AT&T Stadium from Arlington, Texas, and it was even hinted that the blockbuster grudge match would be co-headlined by the anticipated Ronda Rosy vs. ‘Cyborg’ Justino bout. A longtime friend of Justino, former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz said the UFC had offered her the bout, but Dana White fired back that was not the case.

White also confirmed no card would be taking place at AT&T Stadium this year, noting that MGM Grand COO Scott Sibella and president of MGM Resort’ entertainment and sports pushed hard to rebook the fight they originally had scheduled for July 11’s UFC 189. There, McGregor won the interim title against Chad Mendes after a wasted 10-city World Championship Tour and countless promotional dollars when Aldo was forced out with a rib ailment.

It appeared that the oft-teased Dallas Cowboys Stadium card was close to becoming a reality, and indeed White confirmed he thought he had the deal nearly signed:

“If you would have asked me, I would have told you for sure we were going to Dallas Cowboys Stadium.”

The polarizing president also said that the Dec. 12 date worked out better for the UFC as there were no conflicting sporting events to contend with:

“There’s nothing going [that would impact us] in sports.”

White then went on to confirm that it appears Miesha Tate will indeed get a third crack at Rousey, but it won’t be on the same card as Aldo vs. McGregor:

“That fight isn’t going to be on the [Aldo-McGregor] card, for sure. If we were going to go to Dallas Cowboys Stadium, that’s another story, but the MGM really wanted the fight and they made a huge effort for it and they got it. And it works out better for us to be in Las Vegas.”

With no mega event planned for Cowboys Stadium for the foreseeable future, it’s not a surprise to see the promotion save their two biggest names for separate cards.

So the stage is set for arguably one of the most anticipated UFC fights of all-time, and it’s going to take place in Las Vegas as it always seemed destined to be. Will Aldo show up this time around?