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UFC 189 results: Conor McGregor gets title with second-round TKO of Chad Mendes
https://youtu.be/-Qdc1cqFf-4
LAS VEGAS – UFC 189’s main event, an interim featherweight title headliner between Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes, had two tough acts to follow – the injury withdrawal of champ Jose Aldo and a sensational co-main event between welterweight champ Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald.
Somehow, the fight rose above all and surpassed expectations. McGregor (18-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) survived the toughest test of his UFC career and stopped Mendes (17-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC), a three-time title challenger, in the second round to win the interim title and send his Irish fans into a frenzy.
The interim featherweight title bout was the main event of today’s UFC 189 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
McGregor, ranked No. 6 in USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie’s MMA featherweight rankings, stopped the No. 2 Mendes at the 4:57 mark of the second frame with a flurry of punches after spending much of the round on his back, taking hard elbows from the Team Alpha Male standout.
The second referee Herb Dean stepped in to save Mendes, the crowd, 20 percent of whom were from Ireland, according to the UFC, pelted the arena’s floor with beer.
It was the best of possible endings for McGregor, who won five straight to earn a title shot and talked plenty of trash and built a rivalry with Mendes even before they were scheduled to fight. Mendes, in turn, promised to put the Irish fighter on his back and punish him. He did exactly as promised. An early punch opened a significant cut over McGregor’s left eye. But McGregor took the punches and kept coming, jawing at his rival all the time.
The pressure clearly took its toll on the conditioning of Mendes, who had but two weeks to prepare for the fight. By the end of the first frame, he looked winded, while McGregor looked no worse for the wear.
“Don’t get me wrong, the weight cut is tough, but I can go all f-cking night,” said McGregor afterward.
Addressing critics who said he had yet to face a significant test, namely, a fighter such as Mendes with a solid wrestling pedigree, McGregor said afterward, “I’ve been hearing all the time that I’m protected from this style of opponent, that I’ve been gifted a title shot. So my title shot went running, and they gave me a guy who I was supposed to be protected from. I knew I was going to prove to people that I’m a true fighter. It doesn’t matter who it is. I show up and I’m a professional and I’m confident in my abilities.”
McGregor’s comments were, of course, directed at champ Aldo, who withdrew from UFC 189 with a rib injury and forced the UFC to install Mendes. McGregor’s win now sets up a title unification match with the champ.
“In my opinion, Jose went running,” McGregor said. “I had bigger injuries leading up to this fight than that bruised rib. I still showed up here and performed. So in my eyes, Jose’s gone running. If he wants to come back, he can come back. But I swear to god, his day will come.”
Welcomed to the cage by pop singer Sinead O’Connor, who stood atop a column bathed in green light as McGregor, draped, of course, in an Irish flag, flashed a crazed grin at the camera as he walked to the UFC’s octagon. When the lights blackened for Chad Mendes’ entrance, and “Staind” singer Aaron Lewis performed “Country Boy” from an opposing column, the chants of the Irish crowd competed with his acoustic guitar. A McGregor fan dropped an Irish flag on a Mendes cornerman.
McGregor, as usual, made the most of his spotlight, blowing a kiss and opening his arms to the crowd in the octagon’s center. He jawed at Mendes during the face-off.
But after a promising first round in which McGregor landed his trademark straight left to Mendes and punished the body with sharp hooks and front kicks, momentum shifted. Mendes began to time takedowns and threatened with a guillotine submission. In the second, McGregor lay on his back in closed guard, taking big punches and elbows from the three-time title challenger.
Despite that, McGregor asked Dean why they weren’t standing. And when Mendes pounced and then missed on a guillotine attempt, the Irish fighter initiated his own standup and scrambled back to his feet, a smile on his face.
McGregor then unloaded a combination that clearly hurt Mendes to the body, and then a left straight to the jaw sent him to the mat.
“Nobody can take that left hand shot, it’s as simple as that,” McGregor said.
The 26-year-old Dublin native was surrounded by friends and family in the cage after his win, a new belt strapped around his waist as the crowd continued to roar. Moments later, he shared a post-fight handshake with Mendes. Former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, passed over for the short-notice title shot, congratulated him.
Now, McGregor’s real work – defending the title – begins.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 189 results include:
Conor McGregor def. Chad Mendes via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:57
Robbie Lawler def. Rory MacDonald via TKO (punches) – Round 5, 1:00
Jeremy Stephens def. Dennis Bermudez via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 3, 0:32
Gunnar Nelson def. Brandon Thatch via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:54
Thomas Almeida def. Brad Pickett via knockout (flying knee) – Round 2, 0:29
Matt Brown def. Tim Means via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:44
Alex Garcia def. Mike Swick via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
John Howard def. Cathal Pendred via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Cody Garbrandt def. Henry Briones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Louis Smolka def. Neil Seery via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Cody Pfister def. Yosdenis Cedeno via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
https://youtu.be/-Qdc1cqFf-4
LAS VEGAS – UFC 189’s main event, an interim featherweight title headliner between Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes, had two tough acts to follow – the injury withdrawal of champ Jose Aldo and a sensational co-main event between welterweight champ Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald.
Somehow, the fight rose above all and surpassed expectations. McGregor (18-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) survived the toughest test of his UFC career and stopped Mendes (17-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC), a three-time title challenger, in the second round to win the interim title and send his Irish fans into a frenzy.
The interim featherweight title bout was the main event of today’s UFC 189 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
McGregor, ranked No. 6 in USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie’s MMA featherweight rankings, stopped the No. 2 Mendes at the 4:57 mark of the second frame with a flurry of punches after spending much of the round on his back, taking hard elbows from the Team Alpha Male standout.
The second referee Herb Dean stepped in to save Mendes, the crowd, 20 percent of whom were from Ireland, according to the UFC, pelted the arena’s floor with beer.
It was the best of possible endings for McGregor, who won five straight to earn a title shot and talked plenty of trash and built a rivalry with Mendes even before they were scheduled to fight. Mendes, in turn, promised to put the Irish fighter on his back and punish him. He did exactly as promised. An early punch opened a significant cut over McGregor’s left eye. But McGregor took the punches and kept coming, jawing at his rival all the time.
The pressure clearly took its toll on the conditioning of Mendes, who had but two weeks to prepare for the fight. By the end of the first frame, he looked winded, while McGregor looked no worse for the wear.
“Don’t get me wrong, the weight cut is tough, but I can go all f-cking night,” said McGregor afterward.
Addressing critics who said he had yet to face a significant test, namely, a fighter such as Mendes with a solid wrestling pedigree, McGregor said afterward, “I’ve been hearing all the time that I’m protected from this style of opponent, that I’ve been gifted a title shot. So my title shot went running, and they gave me a guy who I was supposed to be protected from. I knew I was going to prove to people that I’m a true fighter. It doesn’t matter who it is. I show up and I’m a professional and I’m confident in my abilities.”
McGregor’s comments were, of course, directed at champ Aldo, who withdrew from UFC 189 with a rib injury and forced the UFC to install Mendes. McGregor’s win now sets up a title unification match with the champ.
“In my opinion, Jose went running,” McGregor said. “I had bigger injuries leading up to this fight than that bruised rib. I still showed up here and performed. So in my eyes, Jose’s gone running. If he wants to come back, he can come back. But I swear to god, his day will come.”
Welcomed to the cage by pop singer Sinead O’Connor, who stood atop a column bathed in green light as McGregor, draped, of course, in an Irish flag, flashed a crazed grin at the camera as he walked to the UFC’s octagon. When the lights blackened for Chad Mendes’ entrance, and “Staind” singer Aaron Lewis performed “Country Boy” from an opposing column, the chants of the Irish crowd competed with his acoustic guitar. A McGregor fan dropped an Irish flag on a Mendes cornerman.
McGregor, as usual, made the most of his spotlight, blowing a kiss and opening his arms to the crowd in the octagon’s center. He jawed at Mendes during the face-off.
But after a promising first round in which McGregor landed his trademark straight left to Mendes and punished the body with sharp hooks and front kicks, momentum shifted. Mendes began to time takedowns and threatened with a guillotine submission. In the second, McGregor lay on his back in closed guard, taking big punches and elbows from the three-time title challenger.
Despite that, McGregor asked Dean why they weren’t standing. And when Mendes pounced and then missed on a guillotine attempt, the Irish fighter initiated his own standup and scrambled back to his feet, a smile on his face.
McGregor then unloaded a combination that clearly hurt Mendes to the body, and then a left straight to the jaw sent him to the mat.
“Nobody can take that left hand shot, it’s as simple as that,” McGregor said.
The 26-year-old Dublin native was surrounded by friends and family in the cage after his win, a new belt strapped around his waist as the crowd continued to roar. Moments later, he shared a post-fight handshake with Mendes. Former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, passed over for the short-notice title shot, congratulated him.
Now, McGregor’s real work – defending the title – begins.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 189 results include:
Conor McGregor def. Chad Mendes via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:57
Robbie Lawler def. Rory MacDonald via TKO (punches) – Round 5, 1:00
Jeremy Stephens def. Dennis Bermudez via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 3, 0:32
Gunnar Nelson def. Brandon Thatch via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:54
Thomas Almeida def. Brad Pickett via knockout (flying knee) – Round 2, 0:29
Matt Brown def. Tim Means via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:44
Alex Garcia def. Mike Swick via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
John Howard def. Cathal Pendred via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Cody Garbrandt def. Henry Briones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Louis Smolka def. Neil Seery via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Cody Pfister def. Yosdenis Cedeno via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)