Joe Rogan: UFC 189's Chad Mendes 'should be the favorite' against Conor McGregor

Joe Rogan

Despite being unproven against the highest level of competition, Conor McGregor is the betting favorite against Chad Mendes for Saturday’s interim featherweight title fight at UFC 189.

One person who doesn’t agree on the odds is UFC commentator Joe Rogan. He said Mendes (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) should be favored over McGregor (17-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) because of his athleticism, speed and knockout power.

“I think Chad Mendes should be the favorite; he should be the favorite,” Rogan said on a recent episode of his podcast. “Chad Mendes is a legit super athlete. He’s a monster. Serious athlete …Chad Mendes knocked Ricardo Lamas dead – dead – with just one punch. He just smashes dudes.

“I think Chad Mendes easily could be as big a star as Conor McGregor. He doesn’t talk like McGregor, but neither did Georges St-Pierre. Georges St-Pierre was the biggest pay-per-view star of all-time because he was a gentleman.”

Rogan’s concern regarding McGregor is similar to most. The unknowns regarding the Irishman’s overall skillset makes it difficult to determine how the fight will play out. Mendes is an overwhelming wrestler with knockout power and could present serious problems to McGregor if he can’t keep the fight standing.

Mendes is a more proven commodity because he’s had more fights against top-tier competition. What McGregor has shown so far in the octagon has led to dominant victories. However, it comes to whether he can do that against an opponent the caliber of “Money.”

“Conor McGregor can knock out any man in the world at 145 pounds,” Rogan said. He’s got some serious hands, serious fucking hands. He throws his kicks almost disdainfully. What he’s doing with his kicks is making patterns to throw his punches.

Another reason why McGregor might be favored, Rogan said, is due to the short-notice nature of the fight. “The Notorious” was originally scheduled to challenge Jose Aldo for the 145-pound title at the event before Aldo suffered a rib injury that prevented him from making the date.

Mendes agreed to step in to fight McGregor for the interim belt on short notice, which in Rogan’s opinion has altered public perception of the matchup.

“It would be interesting if they both had full camps – it’s interesting now with the added element that they didn’t have full camp to prepare for each other,” Rogan said. “Of course Conor had a full camp for Aldo so he’s in shape, but strategically, game plan-wise and having those fine motor skills prepared of stuffing takedowns and getting back to his feet, he (doesn’t have that).”

Although Rogan said Mendes should be the favorite, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he believes the Team Alpha Male product will win. Rogan said he doesn’t make official predictions because, as a commentator, he wants to avoid showing bias as much as possible.

“I don’t pick anybody; there’s two times maybe ever, three times, ever, where I was hoping someone won,” Rogan said. “Those were the three times (Brendan Schaub) fought. It’s true. I don’t like admitting that. It’s real hard when your friends fight. I’m friendly with a lot of guys that fight. I put that sh-t aside and go into those fights like an empty, objective person.”

For more on UFC 189, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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