UFC odds online: Conor McGregor (18-2, 16 KOs, 1 SUB) silenced the critics with a riveting second-round TKO of Chad Mendes (17-3, 7 KOS, 2 SUBs) to win the interim featherweight title.
Now, his original matchup against champion Jose Aldo is even bigger than before – and the buzz was already at fever pitch before the Brazilian pulled out of injury. For the UFC, it’s by far the best result the promotion could have hoped for.
YOUR WINNER: THE UFC
Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta are seeing dollar signs and hearing the “ka-ching!” after Conor McGregor put away two-time title challenger Chad Mendes. Simply put, McGregor’s upcoming fight against Aldo should easily shatter records as the most-watched fight in UFC history. Aldo himself added to the drama, withdrawing less than two weeks before fight night. McGregor gets to say the champ is running scared, the fans have to wait longer and the UFC gets to market a champion vs. champion bout.
MAKE WAY FOR MCGREGOR
McGregor’s meteoric rise to super-stardom was met with a lot of doubt from critics and a ton of stinkeye from fellow featherweights. Many felt that he had talked his way into a title fight without having earned it in the octagon. Favorable matchmaking from the UFC also seemed to confirm that the promotion itself was helping build up a new money-making machine.
But beating Mendes changes everything. The Alpha Male representative had dispatched of nearly everyone in the featherweight division not named Aldo, cementing his spot as the No. 2 fighter in the division. More importantly, he allowed McGregor to answer the question that had dogged him for so long – whether or not he could beat an elite wrestler.
With a signature win under his belt, an interim title strapped around his waist, and charisma unmatched by anyone in the promotion, McGregor is a currently an unstoppable force. Get used to seeing in the headlines for the next few years.
WHY WAS MENDES GASSED?
Mendes inexplicably looked done at the end of the first round, which is puzzling for an elite fighter who has fought five rounds on a few occasions. In previous fights, Mendes showed an active standup game, bouncing in and out with strikes, cutting angles and exploding with takedowns. None of that was apparent against McGregor, and it made all the difference. So why wasn’t the man his usual springy self? We have a few theories.
McGregor targeted the midsection. The Irishman nailed Mendes with spinning back kicks, straight punches and round kicks to the body. The first spinning back kick froze Money, and the followup punishment could have robbed him of some cardio. I’m not too convinced of this theory though, as Mendes has taken shots to the gut and kept going with ease.
Mendes had two weeks notice. While Team Alpha Male fighters are famous for staying in shape all year long, the cold reality is that it is very, very hard to prepare for a five-round championship fight without a full fight camp. Mendes likely had to devote most of that time just cutting down weight, and was unable to build up his stamina to where it needed to be.
A nasty adrenaline dump. This was the biggest fight that Mendes had ever been in, despite the fact that he’s fought Aldo twice for the title. Credit that to the McGregor hype train, which puts his opponents in the spotlight in unparalleled ways. Hell, I was super tense just watching the first few moments of the fight. Even for an experienced fighter like Mendes, the environment in Las Vegas this past weekend was unlike anything he’d ever been in. And it certainly appeared like it got to him.
Most likely, it was a combination of all those factors that led to a subpar performance from Mendes. But we can’t take anything away from McGregor, who rose to the occasion and once again called his own shot, finishing the fight in two rounds. Hopefully you made out nicely with your bets at UFC 189.
ON DECK: UFC ON FOX 16
The next major event is UFC on FOX 16, which takes place on July 25, 2015 at the United Center in Chicago Illinois. The card will be televised live on FOX starting 10 p.m. ET. The bantamweight champion will be on the line, with T.J. Dillashaw defending his strap against the man he took it from, Brazilian Renan Barao. The first time these two met, Dillashaw scored one of the biggest upsets in championship bout history to stun Barao, who had climbed into the top-5 of many pound-for-pound lists.
Get the latest UFC on FOX 16 odds at our sportsbook and don’t miss out an opportunity to bet on a free fight card on network television.
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