After Conor McGregor beat Chad Mendes to claim the interim title last weekend, the burning question was where and when would he face Jose Aldo, ruled out of UFC 189 due to injury, for the title of champion.
Reliable reports suggest the hotly anticipated meeting of the two fighters will happen in 2015 – as part of UFC Fight Night 194 on December 5.
Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor pictured in Dublin in March.
The likely venue? The AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas – home of the Dallas Cowboys.
The reason for the unusual venue is that the December 5 date for UFC 194 has already been confirmed, and singer Andrea Bocelli is booked to play the MGM Grand Garden on that night.
The MGM have offered the UFC a smaller venue in Las Vegas for that night, the Mandalay Bay, but it has a capacity of just 12,000.
Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor being talked about for Cowboys Stadium Imagine this filled up with 100,000 MMA fans pic.twitter.com/dvw5WS3vwi
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) July 17, 2015
By comparison, when a Manny Pacquiao boxing match was held in the AT&T Stadium in 2010, it held a crowd of 45,000. The stadium has a capacity of over 100,000 for American football games.
@danawhite McGregor vs Aldo = AT&T Stadium! You know it makes the most sense $$$$!
— Brandon Meek (@bmeek83) July 12, 2015
No final decision has been made, but it looks like Irish UFC fans need to start planning for a trip to the Lone Star state.
Yeehaw!
Looking VERY likely that Aldo-McGregor fight will wind up in Cowboys Stadium. Pretty incredible
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) July 17, 2015
McGregor v. Aldo at AT&T Stadium (aka Jerrah's World) would be tremendous. I'm RSVP'n YES.
— Callahan (@Callahan_9) July 17, 2015