– Paul Dollery reports from Las Vegas
CONOR McGREGOR IS the interim UFC featherweight world champion.
The Dubliner defeated Chad Mendes by TKO with just three seconds remaining in the second round of tonight’s UFC 189 main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Billed as the toughest fight of his career, that proved to be the case as Mendes asked plenty of questions of the Irishman: most notably the wrestler one. But McGregor had the answers.
Mendes scored several takedowns and appeared to go very close with a guillotine attempt. Although the American had the better of the grappling exchanges, McGregor finally proved that he’s capable of seeing off the challenge of an elite wrestler.
After one big takedown in the first round, Mendes followed up with some ground-and-pound which left McGregor cut — for the first time in his career — around his left eye.
McGregor engaged in plenty of showmanship early on, taunting Mendes throughout the first round. A more serious Conor McGregor emerged for the second round, the majority of which he spent on his back as Mendes aimed to grind his way towards winning another round on the scorecards, having almost certainly taken the first.
But McGregor eventually got back to his feet and began to land strikes which left Mendes unsteady on his feet. Visibly jaded, Mendes fired back with lazy overhand rights while McGregor continued to land with more precision.
After dropping his opponent with a powerful left, McGregor pounced and unloaded with ground-and-pound before referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at the 4:57 mark, crowning McGregor as Ireland’s first ever UFC champion — albeit an interim one for now.
McGregor was joined by his family in the octagon as he raised the belt. He and Mendes left their differences in the past too, embracing in a show of respect that would have seemed unlikely during the hostile build-up to the bout.
Conor McGregor will now turn his attentions to a unification bout with the division’s other champion later this year.
Tell Jose he’s coming.
Love him or hate him, the guy walks the walk…
nowhere for Aldo to hide now
UNREAL – showed huge amount of class to get up off the mat and then to notice Mendes was panting for air. He took his chance, ruthless and clinical. Now lets sort out the Aviva!
TAL!! Erie abu
If he beats Aldo his first undisputed title defense will be in Croke Park I think. All going to plan that would be in summer. Aldo late 2015/early 2016 then a summer defense on home soil
F### the Aviva, Croker !!!
Wait until he meets Rick The model martell.. Then we’ll see.
McGregor fended off the all American wrestling with relative ease
He sure does fair play to him
It’s hard to dislike him. Well done redlad
Ah!!!! The “Typical” Irish begrudger, I bet you shouted for Eubanks against Collins as well.
Aviva a better venue by miles
In what way is the Aviva venue miles better?
Croke Park holds 30,000 more people than the Aviva. McGregor wants Croke Park. The Aviva is far, far behind.
well done mc gregor! proved the hype
watched it with the two kids…. unbelievable! !!!!!!! well done and great to see the fighters respect afterwards
Were they just up or going down? Either
The Baby Einstein sleepy sheep episode gets them to sleep much quicker than UFC.
Consider Fr Jack Hackett officially on the bandwagon
Jack! Get off that bandwagon and pretend to look holy!
I thought he wouldn’t back up the talk. 100% wrong. Respect. Serious athlete.
I wonder how much of a joker Jose Aldo takes Conor McGregor for now then.
a lot of respect for mendes, dominated most of the fight but eventually beat by a better all round game and full acknowledgment of McGregor and the crowd at the end.
Stunning performance and all critics answered.
What a left hand ? The accuracy he has too is phenomenal.
He took some beating for two rounds and then lept up like a spring chicken and picked him off with precision,absolutely brilliant well done Conor.
he actually did a lot of damage in the first round
Jesus that was epic,was bit worried at times,never doubt!!! Unbelievable card and knockouts,respect to Mendes after 2 week training camp and humility in defeat
After he finishes Aldo a defense in Croker against a fully prepared Mendes would be something to see.Respect to two warriors
I’m sure that fight will make him an even better fighter. The fact that he didn’t have it all his own way, and was under some serious pressure in the second.
Mendes gained a lot of new Irish supporters after the fight I think.
Conor’s Mam has some rack on her!
Those last 15 seconds of the second round were absolutely class.
Well Done Conor!
What a fight. Come on Mc Gregor…
Unreal! Had my doubts about mcgregor but f##k me is he the real deal!
Im to drunk to write anything of worth, partys all over the place where i live, go raibh mile maith agat Conor!!
Answered his critics and backed up his words.
What a monster.
Champion Eire can be proud of!
Fair play to any irish man that can capture the eyes of our nation with his words, then back it up in the octagon.Legend.
Where’s that in the constitution?
That one was for the haters!!gowan conor
Ireland abu
Everyone else in the house was asleep and I’d remained quiet as a mouse despite the anxiety in those first 9 and a half mines of he fight but when Mendes dropped in lost it… Oh my goodness how can I get to sleep now?! My adrenaline rush is incredible right now congratulations Mr. McGregor.. 2nd round TKO wins me 80 quid as well!
When’s the DVD out? What a night!!!
he tried ti bet Dana $3 million on a third round knockout!!!
Sorry, second round knockout. shh, it’s late/early
He was in trouble but that’s what champions do. Took the pain for the gain. Cracking left. Mendes felt every bit of that Irish punch. Crowd lethal
I reckon Mendes’ next-of-kin felt that left. WALLOP!
Legend
Had me doubting on a fee occasions but the fact he was chatting away to him when he looked in bits said it all. Then that left hand to finish him, pure class.. The Irish own ufc!!
Except all the other paddys got beat
Who cares? An Irishman owns the ufc and have put critics to sleep. For such a small country we sure do pack a punch (no pun intended)
Who cares? I’m sure plenty do
McGregor is UFC Champ I suppose it’s time to bring in the cows now. All in a mornings work.
Fcuk me, I’m proud to be Irish right now. Not that I wasn’t in the first place, but that was class. I doubted during it, but he didn’t let us down. Legend.
That was awesome. Bam bam!
Hate him or love him, he’s certainly great at what he does
Almost ashamed to say I thought he was a goner. What a comeback! Brilliant fight, and Mendes is a true gent.
Mendes was good. real good. great fighter. great fight.
Well, McGregor has silenced his critics who claimed he couldn’t beat somebody with Mendes fighting style, and with only a couple of weeks notice to swap his training focus from Aldos way of fighting.
And he managed it…..
True talent, true grit, true champion!
@ for connolly your forgetting that Mendes only had a 3 week camp McGregor has 3 months and I know it’s going to light up with red for saying this but it’s was an early stop especially for a title fight
McGregor weakness against wrestlers was shown.
And how was his focus changed from Aldo to Mendes, McGregor game plan always the same don’t get takedown, if taken down get up, superior striking
If Mendes had a full camp fully prepared and not gassed at the end of round 2. Different fight
Conor is the champ.
Mendes could have had 3 years of a training camp and he still would have fallen to that left. Just not able for the power of Conor.
Nobody will stop the Dunlin Panzar….
Jonathan, Mendes wasn’t intelligently defending himself. He just turtled up. He said himself he has no issue with the stoppage
Johnathen: your assessing the fight as if Mendes was operating without any external factors, apart from the 3 week camp, making him gas out. You failed to mention: Mcgregor body kicks, being constantly walked down and backed against the cage, the crowd and main event jitters and the accuracy of Mcgregor’s strikes. It wasn’t at a high altittude and Mendes on accepting the fight said he is always ready and always in good shape so your 3 week camp argument as a excuse for losing the fight isn’t that valid and discredits what was a superior all round clinical performance from mcgregor.
hes not my cuppa. but watched it and have to say fair play to him.
He proved without a doubt that he is the real deal. Mendes is no joke and landed some serious shots but Conor laughed them off. Very impressive.
two words: BODY SHOTS
He talks some bull … But feck me he backs it up …BOOM
what a chin
‘No one can take that left hand ‘ true !!
What s game plan to exhaust Mendes then pick him off and end as he said he would.
well done and respect to both fighters.
looking forward to the title fight against Floyd. he’s probably running scared after that left.
Think you might need some sleep
it’s 1:30 where I am. I’d say take your own advice if you thought I was serious.
what was it lije guys I didn’t see it was only following a text stream! it sounded like mendes was all over him! did he just tire?
Mendes was on top of him on the ground much of the second round, but had no answer when they were on their feet. swift combo knocked Mendes down and Herb Dean stopped it straight away.
ah in fairness Mendes turtled up and got hit 4 or 5 times with no answer before the stoppage.
mendes took him down 4 times. but in the stand up mcgregor wad in complete control. when he got up after quite a time on his back with 30 seconds to go in the second mendes was gassed. mcgregor looked grand and put him away. incredible fight.
Unbelievable performance from McGregor. Turned the momentum very quickly. Fantastic performance from Sinead O’Connor too. Hairs on the back of the next stuff. I love being Irish!!!
I got goosebumps when Conor turned to salute her on his way out
When’s the homecoming?
Inside 2!!!!!!!!
Great victory for McGregor! The Lawler – MacDonald fight before the main event was epic too.
I have actually been reduced to tears
People of Ireland
Unfortunately the emperor is wearing no clothes .
The whole thing is a gigantic fix
Also while I’m at it and telling the truth at 6.45am on a Sunday morning .
There’s no Santa Clause ….he’s a loveable benign character loosely based on a historical figure that your parents use to encourage you to behave .Advice : keep pretending you believe .
Declan..you need to stop taking them tablets you clown
I can’t lorna …..the pollen count is too high already and otherwise il be sneezing and itching my eyes all day at the Munster Final ….
Unbelievable stuff, fair play Conor and enjoy all the hard work!
Couldn’t avoid the take downs but minimised the damage while on his back. If he hits you you’re going down. That has been consistent in all his fights. Can’t see him staying Featherweight for too much longer though. Beat Aldo, defend in Croker and this time next year he’ll be chasing the lightweight strap
It’s incredible how realistic it looks.
And the oscar for best supporting actor (or whatever they hand out at the UFC annual jamboree) goes to …………………Chad Mendez for McGregor versus Mendez .
(Camera moves to Aldo in the audience clapping but looking a bit disappointed)
you could at least get his name right
Serious power in McGregors punches, animal
over to ufc.com for the post fight press conference which will be starting soon
three seconds to the bell and he was able to protect himself, stopped a bit quicker then other nights were???
Youknowimright, he wasn’t protecting himself intelligently. If Mendes was able, he would have turned onto his back and protected himself using his legs and wrestling. He was so gassed he just covered his head and waited for the stoppage. He didn’t complain to the ref about the stoppage and Herb Dean is the best ref in MMA.
earlier fights were let go on longer and they were flopping about like fish out of water, he had the ability to and had moved his arm to protect his head
Gary watch the knockout again
He connects with the left knocks Mendes down, he covers up McGregor connects only 2 more blows, 1 to the shoulder (not significant) 1 to the glove of Mendes’s right hand (not significant) fight stopped. Wasn’t doing enough to to force a stoppage bad decision by herb
Technical knockout (TKO). A technical knockout, when a fight is ended by the referee, doctor, or fighter’s corner, can be called in a few ways. The referee can call one when a fighter is no longer defending himself (Mendes was), usually due to an effective attack by his opponent.(which it wasn’t) poor call should have been a third round
McGregor would probably still have won because Mendes was gassed but a bad decision is still a bad decision
Stop talking sense Jonathan, most of these guys probably never heard of UFC before becoming massive McGregor fans.
Lol Gary your right there
Lol Gary you’re right there, waiting for the flood of red thumbs one this wakes from their hangovers
Lying in the fetal position is not intelligently defending yourself.
Jonathan conveniently leaves out the word intelligently from his post.
If Conor isn’t landing significant blows (shoulder and glove hit) then it is an intelligent defence
Jonathan… Those two shots he landed whilst Mendez was down were lethal. They hit in the head, not the glove amd shoulder.
Watch it again either he hit his glove or that back of his head which is illegal,
so, in your expert opinion, please explain to us, according to the rules what constitutes the back of the head? Also if you really believe that any of those pinches stopped at Mendes glove then your understanding of the laws of physics needs a bit of work
When Conor hit his glove it’s not a direct force blow, some is absorbed by the head yes but not all, so most accept its not an effective strike. Watch it again he hits his shoulder with the first hit and the second hits the glove, the herb steps in,but it was an early stop, he would finished Mendes anyway either before the round ended or in the third. Mendes knew and he’s too classy a guy to bitch about it.
The turtle can be an effective short term defence and here is how you break it down http://joelsbowen.com/mma-study/mma-ground-and-pound-turtle-position-part-2/
Didn’t see Conor do that
try this, put your hand on your forehead and let someone punch you on the hand. That’ll rattle your brain. It’s not an intelligent defense. I don’t want to see these guys in ten years time drooling with speech impediments
Was slightly premature stoppage but a good one. Herb used his discretion correctly. It seemed Mendes was defending intelligently during the turtle position flurry but it was seconds earlier when Mendes was on his feet and got hit with the left that indicated this guy is spent. He turned away from mcgregor, hands completely down, gassing, mouth wide open, body not facing mcgregor, which could have given herb, a very experienced ref, enough insight to know this guy has had enough he is has taken a beating and is gassed.
I’ll ask again, what is your definition of the back of the head? Be specific
Yep, Gary Mason and Jonathon, I’ve watched it again and it’s official, you two are clueless about mma. Period.
I count 8 clean undefended shots before Mendes even goes down
A very controlled premeditated game plan from McGregor IMO! Conor hurt him very early in the 1st and it set the tone while on his feet, inevitable that Mendes would take him to the floor but Conor soaked up all of his punishment and the manner in which he got back on his feet to finish was epic! He needs to raise his hands in defence though! Great champion and the way the 2 embraced after augers well for McGregor as a proud and humble Irish man! Kudos…
You absolute KING! Unbelievable. Spectacular. Astounding. Breathtaking. Dazzling. Conor McGregor you gave me goosebumps. Proud as punch. Take a bow son
respect
Have not seen the fight just the pics here on the journal, however I can’t understand how mendes left himself so open for that punch, you would never see a boxer leave his chin out like that to be blasted
Exhaustion, he was gassed.
Patrick, wrestling takes a massive amount of energy. It’s next to impossible to have a breather. If you watch pro boxing you’ll often see the fighters circle each other and throw no punches in order to catch their breath. If you ever wrestled with your brother/friend etc as a kid growing up, you’ll remember how exhausting it is.
he’d taken 4 or 5 shots before that as well. He was out of it
might have something to do with the kick straight into the guts that McGregor was leading with in every exchange.
I don’t mind the trash talk once they can back it up n he definitely can. Well done.
great talker .great fighter. well done c mc g
Any link to highlights of the fight?
Sure. http://www.internet.com
That final punch to win reminded me of the punch that the FG/Labour government had landed on the irish people the past few years.
Anyone know where I could watch a replay of the fight online?
http://streamable.com/4aj4
the end of it
http://sport.bt.com/ufc189-mendes-v-mcgregor-91363991926335?s_intcid=con_BTS_HP_CarAsset
Congratulations, Man of Steel!
it great McGregor won….but im also impressed by Mandes. Very respectful in defeat and acknowledged the Irish support. Hes after gaining alot of Irish fans after that fight. Me included. fantastic to see the tri-colour raised by a UFC champion.
He looks about 60 with that old man beard. Talks plenty of sh!te too.. I don’t get all the hype
He’s the world champion and you don’t get the hype? You’re not the brightest, are ya.
the champ is here well done conor
Well done Conor, u make us proud
Well done Conor,huge respect inside and outside the octagon. Your opponents are broken down even before the fight with your wit. Very proud & well done
Will the Aldo fight be in Croker later this year?