Conor McGregor is the king of the UFC's featherweight division, at least temporarily after he won the interim title from Chad Mendes in the main event of Saturday night's UFC 189 fight card in Las Vegas.
Referee Herb Dean stopped the fight after McGregor landed a brutal left hook on Mendes with just seconds to go in the second round and moments after the Irishman escaped a submission attempt. Mendes tried to defend himself after going down, but the damage was done from the blow, as Bleacher Report MMA showed:
Conor McGregor KOs Chad Mendes to become Interim UFC Featherweight Champion! #UFC189 pic.twitter.com/1FigFuECUk
— Bleacher Report MMA (@BR_MMA) July 12, 2015
Mendes and McGregor started things off with fireworks, as each landed significant strikes in the opening round, but the fight largely began in ideal fashion for McGregor. Able to stand and fight with his throws and kicks, the 26-year-old utilized his reach advantage to beat up Mendes' body early.
The fight quickly started going Mendes' way in the second, however. He landed a takedown early in Round 2 and kept McGregor pinned to the canvas for nearly the entirety of the five-minute round as he tried desperately to break free.
Once he did, Mendes looked much worse for wear, noticeably wobbling and appearing unable to defend himself. McGregor smelled blood, and he went in for the kill, tying Mendes' knockout record in the process, as ESPN Stats & Info noted:
Conor McGregor: 16th career victory by KO/TKO out of 18 wins, fifth in UFC, ties Mendes for most in UFC featherweight history. #UFC189
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 12, 2015
There were questions entering the fight as to how McGregor would react to fighting a wrestler with great knockout power, and those questions went unanswered for much of the fight. McGregor was eating elbows on his back and looked to be in trouble before getting back to his feet and noticing Mendes' condition.
Of course, that condition had a lot to do with the damage McGregor inflicted on his opponent with body shots, as MMATorch.com noted:
McGregor just wore down Mendes with those body shots, and had the discipline to deal with the takedowns. That was incredible.
— MMATorch (@mmatorch) July 12, 2015
It also didn't help that UFC officials gave Mendes short notice on the fight after title holder Jose Aldo withdrew from the bout with a rib injury just two weeks before the card. A short camp put Mendes at a disadvantage, as Grantland's Bill Barnwell observed:
Poor Mendes on a short camp had exactly nine minutes of cardio in him.
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) July 12, 2015
It also goes without saying that a lot of that cardio disadvantage was natural in a sense. A much larger fighter in muscle mass and with a much shorter reach, Mendes got outworked by McGregor's conditioning awfully quick.
Although the action from an undeniably amazing fight card was enough to bask in for some time, no hesitation was put on looking forward to an inevitable showdown. Should Aldo return to health from his injury in apt time, he'll get a crack at McGregor to snatch that interim belt away from him.
One thing already remains certain—the company is going to promote the heck out of it, as UFC President Dana White told MMAFighting.com:
White said if McGregor beats Mendes, it’s an even bigger fight against Aldo. He said the UFC will spend even more money on promotion.
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 10, 2015
McGregor could still possibly fight Frankie Edgar next if Aldo isn't ready, who even hopped up over the cage and congratulated McGregor after the fight, as Fox Sports UFC reported. The second-ranked featherweight fighter is the only person not named Mendes or Aldo currently above McGregor in the UFC rankings.
But for now, and until his 14-fight winning streak is halted, we're all living in a McGregor-centered UFC world, as MMA journalist Mike Chiappetta noted:
So how is your first morning living in a McGregor world?
— Mike Chiappetta MMA (@MikeChiappetta) July 12, 2015
There are still worthy opponents in the weight class that McGregor has yet to face, and in fact, that may be putting it lightly when Aldo is the chief opponent in the way. But Saturday was the toughest test yet for McGregor, and despite some trouble, he passed with flying colors.
