On Saturday night, one of the biggest pay-per-views in UFC history went down in Las Vegas and featured one of the biggest stars in the UFC. That man is Conor McGregor.
McGregor, a showman with a penchant for pre-fight trash talk, in-cage antics and focused intensity, took on the biggest challenge of his career. That challenge came in the form of Chad Mendes.
Mendes, who filled in for UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, represented the one thing McGregor had not been tested by in the UFC: a wrestler.
Fans criticized the "tailor-made" matchups the UFC gave to McGregor by only having him take on strikers. After all, McGregor is a striker himself and a cash cow that the UFC wants to milk for all the money it can. So, what we got in UFC 189's main event was not only an interim featherweight belt up for grabs but a test of McGregor vs. his supposed weakness of wrestling.
What ensued was a mix that has left us even more confused, but one thing is certain: McGregor's body striking made the difference in taking home the victory and interim UFC Featherweight Championship.
Coming into this fight, Mendes—who only had about two weeks' notice for the bout—held the perceived advantage because of his wrestling. Everyone knew, though, that if McGregor could weather the storm, Mendes could gas out.
Instead of going into deep waters, McGregor gassed out Mendes with force.
Throughout the two-round affair, McGregor constantly went to the body with kicks and punches. After a few shots to the ribs, chest and stomach in the first round, Mendes was visibly uncomfortable with what was transpiring.
That's when he started looking for the takedown more often.
However, if he got McGregor down, the Irishman would eventually get back up and continue his body assault. The more he nailed Mendes with body shots, the slower and more plodding Mendes became.
The way Conor McGregor attacked the body of Chad Mendes was absolutely a thing of beauty. A flawless, well-timed attack in the game. #UFC189
— Chad Lykins (@CLykinsBlog) July 12, 2015
Then came the end of the fight. Once McGregor escaped the mat war with Mendes, he got up. Mendes, exhausted from the excessive body work that McGregor put in, looked as if he just ran a marathon. That allowed McGregor to stun him with a punch and finish the gassed American before the bell could sound for Round 3.
Body shots have become a lost art, especially in MMA. Fighters who do utilize body work oftentimes are successful, as body shots undoubtedly mount punishment and start moving the opponent's needle more toward the empty side of the gas tank.
Bas Rutten was a master of this. There was a gigantic target on his opponent's liver and he had no problem gunning for it whenever he pleased.
If I have said this once, I have said it a thousand times in conversing about fights: I would rather get punched in the head than take a socking to the liver or stomach. It's that simple. It simply hurts so much more to have your body rattled.
And that's what happened to Mendes. He was constantly punched and kicked in the body, which brought pain and fatigue.
Body work was quite possibly the difference between McGregor finishing the bout in Round 2 or potentially taking more punishment on the ground for the rest of the fight.
