Connor McGregor cared less about the sudden change in opponent for UFC 189 but nevertheless came out on top as he promised.
In what was originally supposed to be a Jose Aldo vs. Connor McGregor tiff, the main card had to make last-minute changes after reigning featherweight champion Jose Aldo was forced to pull out due to a rib injury sustained during training.
Chose to take Aldo's place was Chad Mendes, who jumped at the opportunity. Though questions cropped up if he was prepared to face a waiting McGregor, Mendes showed that he was up to the task at least after the first round.
In the end, a costly mistake by Mendes was all the opening McGregor need to hack out a a second round TKO that allowed the Irishman to win the interim title at UFC 189 held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
McGregor seemed to be groping for form in the early going but nevertheless did what was expected from him. McGregor stuck to his offensive self and this eventually paid off before the second round came to a close.
As expected, Mendes tried to ground McGregor as much as he could throughout the fight, and McGregor seemed to be up for a long night. One instance in the opening round saw Mendes taking down McGregor and making him bleed with two big punches. With Mendes carrying out his game plans to the letter, the first round went in his favor.
In the second round, McGregor seemed to have been distracted by the game plan of Mendes. The Irishman still continued his offensive and Mendes resorted to take him down as much as he could.
At this point, a miscalculation could be the only thing to turn the tide, and Mendes made that costly mistake. After going for a choke, the attempt failed and was successfully thwarted by McGregor. With the shift in momentum, Mendes tried to take down McGregor again, but it seemed that the Irishman had found a way to fend him off.
McGregor landed a vicious right and followed it up with a left, which sent Mendes down. Herb Dean stepped in and the fight ended with barely three seconds left in the second round (4:57).
McGregor thus ended up fulfilling his promise of knocking out Mendes, thwarting the expected grapples and takedowns which Mendes was expected to do.
McGregor is now 6-0 in the UFC, and his latest triumph makes it the fourth consecutive KO victory for the Irish mixed martial artist.
