After Rafael dos Anjos withdrew from UFC 196 with a broken foot, there was much speculation as to who would fill the slot opposite McGregor.

The UFC offered Jose Aldo a rematch on short notice at lightweight, however Aldo turned the rematch down, with his coach revealing that Aldo wasn’t in fight shape.

During the UFC 196 press conference Conor McGregor reacted to the news of Aldo turning the fight down, stating that he believes Aldo should take “a year to a year and a half” off to recover from the brain trauma sustained in their UFC 194 bout where McGregor picked up a 13 second KO win and bounced Aldo’s head off the canvas “like a basketball”.