The man who McGregor had his sights on, featherweight champion Jose Aldo, had pressing matters to deal with first in the form of former opponent Chad Mendes, who had soared back to the number one contender’s spot after a series of knockout wins, and the two were scheduled to meet again at UFC 176 in Los Angeles on August 2. But an injury to Aldo scrapped the bout, and later the entire card, with Aldo-Mendes II moving to UFC 179 later in the year.
The brief title fight drought ended on August 30, as Dillashaw prepared to defend his title against the man he beat for the belt, Barao. But after a bad weight cut forced Barao out of the bout on weigh-in day, debuting undercard fighter Joe Soto stepped up to face the champion on a day’s notice. It was a gutsy decision and Soto gave a supreme effort in the UFC 177 main event, but there would be no Hollywood ending in Sacramento, as Dillashaw retained his title with a fifth-round knockout.
By now, bad blood was brewing between Jones and unbeaten Daniel Cormier, but first the light heavyweight champ had business to tend to with former foe Gustafsson. The two were slated to meet at UFC 178 on September 27, but a Gustafsson injury forced him out of the bout. In stepped Cormier, and a subsequent press conference brawl with Jones ignited even more interest in the fight. But soon, a Jones leg injury prompted the postponement of the bout to UFC 182 in January of 2015.
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Moving quickly, the UFC moved the UFC 177 bout between Johnson and Chris Cariaso into the UFC 178 main event slot, and Johnson was mighty once more, submitting his foe in the second round on a card that saw comeback wins by Cruz and Cat Zingano, another knockout win by McGregor, and a victory by Donald Cerrone over highly-regarded newcomer Eddie Alvarez.
On October 25 in Rio de Janeiro, Aldo and Mendes finally met again, and while their first bout was a quick knockout win for the champion, in the UFC 179 rematch, he had to fight tooth and nail to keep his belt in one of the best UFC title fights ever.