Dana White: Jose Aldo ‘would’ve made close to $4 million’ to fight Conor McGregor

If Jose Aldo thought his ribs were hurting, that’s nothing compared to the sting his bank account is feeling now.

The outspoken UFC featherweight champ has long been a proponent for higher fighter pay. And now, according to UFC President Dana White, Aldo was finally in line to get that big payday he wanted oh-so-badly before a rib injury forced him to pull out of Saturday’s UFC 189 main event against arch-nemesis Conor McGregor.

“Believe me, he stood to make a lot of money — a lot of money,” White told ESPN’s Ryen Russillo. “If he could’ve fought, he would’ve fought.”

White was then asked how much Aldo stood to make.

“Millions of dollars. Yeah, he probably would’ve made close to $4 million.”

Double ouch.

As if having your rib crunched by a spinning kick to the side wasn’t enough, knowing you missed out on a multi-million dollar payday has to have the Brazilian extra salty.

Then again, the feud with McGregor has put the featherweight division on the map, despite Aldo’s half-decade reign. If McGregor can get past Chad Mendes in a few days, the anticipation for the stalled Aldo bout will be at a fever pitch.

But for Aldo, that surely doesn’t take the sting off pulling out of the UFC 189 bout. Aldo found himself in a precarious position: He could’ve either taken the fight while hurt and risked further injury or potentially a loss; or, he sits out, and is left with sour grapes.

As an organization, does the UFC owe a champion like Aldo some sort of compensation for months spent in training, and lost money on the pay-per-view end? After all, as White said himself: “If he could’ve fought, he would’ve fought.”

What do you think Cagereaders?

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Ryan McKinnell is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports Cagewriter blog. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!