UFC 189 post-fight facts: Chad Mendes joins small group with third failed title bid

Chad Mendes

UFC 189 may have got off to a slow start, but the action quickly ramped into high gear, and the final six fights ended via stoppage.

In the main event, Conor McGregor (18-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) lived up to his word when he scored a second-round TKO of Chad Mendes (17-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) to become interim UFC featherweight champion.

Prior to McGregor’s victory, the co-main event featured on of the most dramatic welterweight title fights in UFC history when champion Robbie Lawler (26-10 MMA, 11-4 UFC) defended his crown for the first time with a fifth-round knockout of Rory MacDonald (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in a “Fight of the Year” candidate.

The two title fights overshadowed an undercard that featured some historical feats. For a complete recap, check below for 55 post-fight facts about UFC 189.

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General

MGM Grand Garden Arena

Lawler, MacDonald, McGregor and Thomas Almeida earned $50,000 UFC 189 fight-night bonuses.

UFC 189 drew an announced attendance of 16,019 for a live gate of $7.2 million.

Betting favorites went 6-5 on the card.

Total fight time for the 11-bout card was 2:09:36.

Main card

Conor McGregor

McGregor became the fourth European-born fighter in UFC history to win a belt. Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Bas Rutten and Andrei Arlovski also accomplished the feat.

McGregor extended his winning streak to 12 fights. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since November 2010.

McGregor’s six-fight UFC winning streak in featherweight competition is the second longest one in the division behind Jose Aldo (seven).

McGregor has earned 16 of his 18 career victories by knockout.

McGregor has earned five of his six UFC victories by stoppage.

McGregor earned his fifth knockout victory in UFC featherweight competition and tied Mendes for the most knockouts in divisional history.

McGregor was awarded the fifth fight-night bonus of his UFC featherweight career, tied with Dennis Bermudez for the second most in divisional history behind Charles Oliveira (six).

Mendes became the fifth fighter in UFC history to go 0-3 in championship fights. He joins Urijah Faber, Kenny Florian, Pedro Rizzo and Chael Sonnen in the category.

Mendes has suffered two of his three career losses by knockout.

Mendes has landed 42 takedowns in UFC/WEC featherweight competition, the most in the combined history of the weight class.

Robbie Lawler

Lawler improved to 7-1 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2013. The lone defeat during that stretch came to Johny Hendricks at UFC 171 in March 2014.

Lawler’s four-fight UFC winning streak in welterweight competition is tied for the third longest active streak in the division behind Neil Magny (seven) and Stephen Thompson (five).

Lawler improved to 4-0 in rematches during his career with his second victory over MacDonald.

Lawler has earned four of his seven victories since he returned to the UFC by knockout.

Lawler has earned 20 of his 26 career victories by knockout.

Lawler’s six knockout victories in UFC welterweight competition are tied for the third most in divisional history behind Matt Brown (nine) and Thiago Alves (eight).

Lawler’s eight knockdowns landed in UFC welterweight competition are tied for the third most in divisional history behind Alves (11) and Jake Ellenberger (nine).

Lawler has a 15:1 knockdown ratio in UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce/EliteXC competition.

Lawler has landed 484 significant strikes over his past five UFC appearances.

Rory MacDonald

MacDonald suffered his first knockout loss since June 12, 2010 – a span of 1,855 days (more than five years) and 10 fights.

MacDonald failed to complete a takedown for just the second fight in his UFC career.

Jeremy Stephens (24-11 MMA, 11-10 UFC) improved to 4-2 since he dropped to the UFC featherweight division in May 2013.

Stephens has earned 16 of his 24 career victories by knockout.

Dennis Bermudez (14-5 MMA 7-3 UFC) fell to 7-2 in UFC competition since he suffered a submission loss to Diego Brandao in the featherweight tournament final of “The Ultimate Fighter 14.”

Bermudez suffered the first knockout loss of his career.

Gunnar Nelson

Gunnar Nelson (14-1-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has earned 13 of his 14 career victories by stoppage. He’s earned 11 of those finishes in the first round.

Nelson has earned four of his five UFC victories by submission. He’s attempted five submissions inside the octagon and finished four of those for a success rate of 80 percent.

Brandon Thatch (11-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has suffered both of his UFC losses by submission.

Thomas Almeida (19-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) earned his 19th consecutive victory and is still undefeated dating back to his November 2011 pro debut.

Almeida’s 19-fight winning streak in MMA competition is the second longest among active UFC fighters behind Khabib Nurmagomedov (22).

Almeida has earned all but one of his career victories by stoppage.

Almeida has earned both of his UFC stoppage victories by knockout.

Brad Pickett (24-11 MMA, 4-6 UFC) was unsuccessful in his return to the UFC bantamweight division.

Pickett suffered just the second knockout loss of his career and first since Feb. 26, 2005 – a span of 3,787 days (more than 10 years) and 33 fights.

Preliminary card

Matt Brown

Matt Brown’s (20-13 MMA, 13-8 UFC) 13 victories in UFC welterweight competition are tied with Jon Fitch for the fourth most in divisional history behind Georges St-Pierre (19), Matt Hughes (16) and Josh Koscheck (14).

Brown earned his 11th stoppage victory UFC welterweight competition and tied Hughes for the most finishes in divisional history.

Brown’ 11 stoppage victories during his UFC tenure are tied for the fifth most of any fighter in company history behind Anderson Silva (14), Vitor Belfort (13), Hughes (13) and Frank Mir (12).

Brown has earned 18 of his 20 career victories by stoppage, including 11 of his 13 wins under the UFC banner

Brown earned his first submission victory since Nov. 15, 2008 – a span of 2,429 days (more than seven years) and 17 fights.

Brown’s fight-finishing submission marked his 23rd submission attempt in UFC welterweight competition. That ties St-Pierre for the second most in divisional history behind Chris Lytle (31).

Tim Means (25-6-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) fell to 4-2 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in May 2014.

Means suffered his first submission loss since March 26, 2010 – a span of 1,933 days (more than five years) and 21 fights.

Mike Swick (15-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) fell to 1-4 in his past five fights. He hasn’t earned a victory since August 2012.

Swick suffered his first decision loss since Nov. 14, 2009 – a span of 2,065 days (more than seven years) and four fights.

John Howard

John Howard (23-11 MMA, 7-6 UFC) improved to 3-3 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in August 2013.

Howard has earned four of his seven UFC victories by split decision. Overall, he’s earned five of his seven wins with the promotion by going the distance.

Cathal Pendred (17-3-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) had his 12-fight undefeated streak snapped for his first defeat since December 2010.

Pendred suffered the first decision loss of his career. He was previously 10-0 in fights that went the distance.

Cody Garbrandt (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his career.

Henry Briones (16-5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) suffered the first decision loss since June 25, 2011 – a span of 1,477 days (more than four years) and nine fights.

Neil Seery (15-11 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has suffered both of his UFC losses by decision.

Yosdenis Cedeno (10-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) has suffered all three of his UFC losses by decision.

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

FightMetric research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.