Better late than never - Nevada requests Jose Aldo rib scans
Yesterday we wondered out loud why the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) was not yet getting their own doctors to examine featherweight champion Jose Aldo, or at least scans of his rib cage, to help provide some neutral clarity to the ongoing controversy between the fighter's camp and the UFC as to the question of just how injured he is, two weeks from UFC 189 in Las Vegas. Several hours later, the commission's executive director told ESPN that the NAC's consulting physician, Timothy Trainor, had requested the champion's medical documents from the UFC's medical consult, Dr. Jeff Davidson.
That is an about-face from the NAC director's earlier statements that the commission's investigation into Aldo's health may begin and end with having the fighter fill out a questionaire on fight week. Having an experienced orthopedic surgeon like Trainor provide an obstensibly neutral opinion on Aldo's health by looking at his scan images will be a wonderful start, but we have to wonder why it is taking so long for Nevada to procure those documents.
After all, executive director Bennett told ESPN that "we've been discussing this for the last week, going back and forth, trying to get documents," from the UFC. We also wonder why the commission feels it is appropriate to give a prediction that amounts to a medical diagnosis before they have examined the patient, Aldo, or even looked at his scans.
You see, even though Trainor has yet to examine Aldo or images of his ribs, the commission executive director went ahead and said that they think "Scarface" will be just fine because, you know, the UFC tells them so.
"Right now, according to Dr. Trainor's communications with Dr. Davidson, it appears Aldo had a rib contusion and a cartilage injury," Bennett said.
Yes, though that information could have also simply been gleaned from the UFC's official press release last week, since it is almost verbatim what it said. Having a UFC doctor tell Nevada's doctor their already publicly known opinion doesn't amount to Nevada getting involved.
Trainor actually looking at the rib scans and/or examining Aldo does. That, will come soon, hopefully.
"Dr. Trainor is currently awaiting to see the medical documents and at this point in time, we think it is highly unlikely Aldo will have any trouble competing. Dr. Trainor has told me this type of injury is fairly common and usually improves within a few days," Bennett continued.
"We already have Dr. Trainor in communication with the UFC and we are making sure Aldo's injury is not going to prevent him from fighting."
At the very least, that last sentence is an extremely poor choice of words from the Nevada regulator. The goal of the commission should not be to make sure that an injury doesn't prevent Aldo from fighting in a big money Vegas bout, but rather to determine whether or not he is too badly hurt to fight safely, relatively speaking.
And, again, the commission spitting back the UFC doctor's opinion to the world while throwing their own physician's name into the mix isn't actually useful. Trainor needs to get his hands on Aldo himself or at least his scans, to give his professional opinion. Also, even if Aldo's rib bones are only bruised, with cartilage torn from them, we're amazed to hear the director seem to suggest that those injuries could heal or even substantially improve in a short period of time, as Bennett said Dr. Trainor told him.
The commission's chairman Francisco Aguilar offerred a more reasoned, qualified take on the situation. Namely, that we need to hear from Nevada's doctor.
"That's something I would have to talk to the doctors about and find out how it would impact the fight," he said.
"From a novice's perspective, I would think a rib injury would have a major impact on a fighter's abilities, but I would need a doctor's analysis before denying medical clearance."
We're glad to hear that Nevada is getting their excellent doctor on the case, as it is high past due. Hopefully the commission and the UFC's "hand-in-glove" relationship can help expedite the delivery of Aldo's rib scans so that Dr. Trainor doesn't have to wait another week or more to see them.
Perhaps the first real news will come from Aldo and his camp directly, however. According to his coach and manager Andre Perdeneiras, Aldo has been resting since injuring his ribs last week.
Today, however, Aldo is reportedly going to get a training session in again, to see how he feels. After that, he'll be in a better position to make a decision on whether it will be him fighting Conor McGregor at UFC 189, or Chad Mendes.
