Rihanna was in talks with Dana White to perform at Jose Aldo’s scheduled UFC 189 walkout
Musical artist, Rihanna, delivered the Super Bowl LVII halftime show on Sunday night. In a 12-minute set, she performed many of her hits, including “We Found Love,” “Where Have You Been,” “Diamonds” and “Work.”
It was the singer’s first major event since becoming a mother. But did you know that the famed singer almost performed at one of the biggest UFC events in the promotion’s history?
On July 11, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the UFC held the UFC 189 fight card headlined by Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes. The event was supposed to be a UFC featherweight title fight between then champion Jose Aldo, and challenger McGregor.
Following UFC 189, UFC President Dana White spoke to reporters about the alterations and revealed that he was “working on” getting Rihanna to perform for Aldo’s walkout. However, the plan never came to fruition as the Brazilian champion was forced to pull out of his fight with McGregor after reportedly suffering a fractured rib during training.
Instead, Sinead O’Connor and Aaron Lewis for Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes, respectively.
Watch below:
Below are the official UFC 189 results:
Main Card (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Conor McGregor defeated Chad Mendes via TKO, Round 2, 4:57 for interim featherweight title
Robbie Lawler defeated Rory MacDonald via TKO, Round 5, 1:00
Jeremy Stephens defeated Dennis Bermudez via TKO, Round 3, 0:32
Gunnar Nelson defeated Brandon Thatch via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1, 2:54
Thomas Almeida defeated Brad Pickett via KO (knee) Round 2, 0:29
Prelim Card (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)
Matt Brown defeated Tim Means via submission (guillotine choke) Round 1, 4:44
Alex Garcia defeated Mike Swick via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
John Howard defeated Cathal Pendred via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Cody Garbrandt defeated Henry Briones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Prelim Card (UFC Fight Pass, 7 p.m. ET)
Louis Smolka defeated Neil Seery via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Cody Pfister defeated Yosdenis Ceden via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
