LAS VEGAS — Stepping into a title fight on less than a few weeks’ notice typically isn’t the most ideal situation for a UFC fighter. But UFC 189 isn’t your typical title fight, and Conor McGregor isn’t your typical opponent — as Chad Mendes is quickly learning.
Mendes filled the void left by featherweight champion Jose Aldo after Aldo withdrew from UFC 189’s main event with injured ribs. He and McGregor are now slated to vie for the interim UFC title, and Mendes, a peerlessly strong wrestler who stays in shape year-round, is more than happy to have skipped past the many inevitable months of McGregorisms and jump straight into the fray against the loquacious Irishman.
“Honestly, right now I feel damn good,” Mendes said Wednesday.
“This is a fight to me that has a lot of hype around it. But this is a fight just like any other fight and that’s how I’m trying to treat it. I’m being focused. I know this guy is going to talk all kinds of trash. For me, I didn’t have to listen to all this s–t through an entire training camp. I get to come in here fresh and just get in there and whoop this dude up. I’m sitting in a good spot.”
While the condensed timeline has limited any interactions between the two featherweights, it hasn’t shut down McGregor’s mind games completely.
UFC President Dana White recently revealed on The Jim Rome Show that McGregor is lobbying to bet both White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta a whopping $3 million that he knocks out Mendes inside the second round on July 11. McGregor doubled down on that idea during Wednesday’s open workouts, clarifying that the bet is actually for $3.5 million and that he hopes White accepts it.
In Mendes’ eyes, though, all of the talk is exactly that: talk.
“I think that’s just another way for Conor to build this fight up,” Mendes said. “It is what it is.
“I know the guy loves money. I love money. Money is always on our minds. If that’s something he wants to focus on, let him focus on that while I’m beating a hole in his face.”
In many ways, the UFC is playing with fire with it’s decision to book Mendes vs. McGregor at UFC 189 after investing millions of dollars into the promotion of a title fight against Aldo.
That fight was on track to land among the highest-grossing UFC events of all-time. Now a Mendes win would derail it completely. But after watching McGregor receive what he believed to be favorable matchmaking throughout his UFC run, Mendes is more than happy to play spoiler to Ireland’s party.
“He’s the type of fighter, he loves to stand and strike. He’s got long distance, but the thing is he gets hit a lot in fights,” Mendes said. “He drops his hands, he kind of gets lazy in there at times. When you get a guy like that that’s taller than me, that’s where I lay the hammer down on these dudes.
“His style is perfect for me. I’m athletic. I’m more athletic than he is. I finish fights. I have power, speed. You guys are in for a treat, I believe. So stay tuned.”