The highly-awaited showdown between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor in jeopardy after the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion sustained a broken rib while preparing for their July 11 bout at UFC 189 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Nova Uniao coach Andre Pederneiras confirmed reports about the injury in an interview with Combate. He revealed Aldo is in "deep pain" after getting injured during a training session with lightweight contender Alcides Nunes, but the 28-year-old has yet to pull out from the fight and is determined to continue.

"He cried. He wants this fight bad, everybody invested a lot in this," Pederneiras told Combate. "I was with him the whole afternoon. He's heartbroken. He wants to fight anyway."

However, it will still depend on the results of upcoming examinations. If the doctors confirm the rib fracture, Pederneiras said the fight will be cancelled and Aldo will not be able to fight until October.

"If the fracture is really confirmed, Aldo will have to stop training, do nothing for three or four weeks until it's fixed, and then he would be able to do any exercise without forcing his rib," Pederneiras said. "And then he would need a normal time to do a training camp: three months. I believe this fight wouldn't happen before October."

UFC president took to Twitter to express his reaction on Aldo's injury. White told his followers to "relax" because the fight is not yet officially cancelled. But if Aldo will not be available, MMA insider Front Row Brian revealed that UFC has already reached out to Frankie Edgar and Chad Mendes about the possibility of replacing Aldo at UFC 189.

"There's pressure on Aldo to fight on. Edgar and Mendes have been contacted by UFC," Front Row Brian wrote on Twitter. "I'm not saying McGregor is fighting at 189 regardless of Aldo. Just that Edgar and Mendes have been contacted to possibly fight Conor at 189."

Aldo has not defended his title since scoring a unanimous decision win against Mendes at UFC 179 in October last year, while McGregor booked a title shot after scoring a second-round knockout win against Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night in January.

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