Las Vegas — Something special happens when a fighter rises to meet expectations, and UFC 189 was all about seeing if Conor McGregor could live up to his.
In the two years since his official Octagon debut, the surging Irish featherweight has become one of the biggest names in all of MMA. With undeniable charisma and the ability to back up his talk in the cage, the Dublin native’s trajectory has been nothing short of meteoric as he’s gone from highly touted prospect to supernova.
Yet, despite all the attention McGregor has garnered for his trash-talking and flashy presentation outside the cage, several key elements remained absent from his resume. All the hype and excitement surrounding him would be meaningless if he was unable to claim the featherweight title, and his opportunity to do just that materialized on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Though the scrappy Irishman was initially faced with the challenge of dethroning long-reigning featherweight king Jose Aldo at UFC 189, a rib injury suffered by the Brazilian phenom forced him out of their main event tilt.
Nevertheless, previous title challenger Chad Mendes would step in on short notice, and with the UFC implementing an interim 145-pound title in Aldo’s absence, the ultimate prize McGregor had been hunting remained available.
Furthermore, questions surrounding McGregor were going to be answered one way or another on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Could he become the champion he deemed himself destined to be, or would Mendes‘ wrestling be McGregor‘s kryptonite and knock his rapid rise off the rails?
The anticipation and energy surrounding the main event showdown was palpable inside the MGM Grand Garden, and it was McGregor‘s night to shine.
After being taken down repeatedly for the better part of two rounds, McGregor landed a clean left hand on Mendes‘ chin, dropping the perennial contender to the canvas. Once his opponent was hurt, McGregor rushed in with a flurry of shots that forced referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the fight, and the interim featherweight title was his.
While the main event was the driving force behind the attention UFC 189 received in the lead-up to the event, a bout for the welterweight title between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald in the co-main event slot was a huge showdown in one of the UFC’s most competitive divisions.
Ruthless came into the rematch in the midst of one of the most impressive resurgences in MMA history and was determined to log his first successful defense of the 170-pound strap against the talented young Canadian.
On the other side of the equation, MacDonald has been touted as a future champion since the moment he emerged onto the sport’s biggest stage back in 2010. Over the last five years, the 25-year-old British Columbia native has faced a collection of the world’s best welterweights, and his second go with Lawler brought with it a long-awaited title shot.
The bout figured to be a matchup of Lawler‘s power and MacDonald’s technique, and it was the champion’s greatest attribute that won out in the end.
Although Lawler‘s striking tore up MacDonald’s face during the first two rounds, the challenger rebounded strong in the third to turn the tides with a flurry against the cage. It was anyone’s fight going into the final round, and a straight left from Lawler that landed on MacDonald’s shattered nose crumpled the Tristar fighter to the canvas.
A few more shots from Lawler was all it took for him to put away MacDonald and retain the welterweight strap in what was easily one of the best fights in the history of the UFC’s 170-pound division.
It was a crazy night of fights in Las Vegas. Let’s take a look at the good, bad and the strange from UFC 189.
The Good
McGregor not only became the interim featherweight champion on Saturday night, he may have also become the biggest star in mixed martial arts.
The Irish phenom weathered a wrestling onslaught from Mendes only to bounce back and score a knockout victory in the second round of their main event tilt.
While the Dublin native looked far from bulletproof as he had in every other appearance, defeating a two-time title challenger in Mendes is an impressive accomplishment. McGregor wasn’t able to stop the Team Alpha Male fighter’s takedowns, but that didn’t matter in the end.
McGregor‘s power was too much for Mendes to handle, as a single left hand secured the victory and his first UFC title. And as McGregor‘s star power explodes in the aftermath of his performance at UFC 189, his knockout win over Mendes will only make the unification bout with Aldo that much bigger.
Their scheduled fight at UFC 189 was predicted to be one of the biggest bouts in UFC history, and it’s all but guaranteed that their eventual collision will be the biggest fight the promotion has ever put on. But that’s further down the road. All that matters to McGregor right now are the fruits of his labor: championship gold.
Meanwhile, in the welterweight division, the chapter Lawler is currently writing could go down as one of the best in MMA history. Not long ago the heavy-handed knockout artist appeared to be at the end of his career after a series of lackluster performances under the Strikeforce banner left the once dominant powerhouse looking like a shell of what he once was.
Three years and a welterweight title later, Lawler is a completely different type of monster. In addition to the signature brand of devastation he’s always possessed in his hands, the current version of Lawler is one of measured aggression and patience.
Both qualities were on display in his co-main event title bout with MacDonald at UFC 189, as the American Top Team product chipped away at the Canadian challenger until he finally put him away in the final frame.
While the win over MacDonald will go down as Lawler‘s first successful defense of the welterweight strap, it was just one in a long string of amazing and resilient performances from a fighter who battled back from the brink of obscurity to find greatness.
*** Flying knee knockouts were all the rage at UFC 189, and Jeremy Stephens made another addition to his highlight reel by delivering a blistering one to Dennis Bermudez in the final round of their tilt. Up until the point Lil’ Heathen dropped The Ultimate Fighter alum with the well-timed strike, the fight had been an absolute shootout between two featherweights unwilling to yield.
While the New York native had Stephens in trouble numerous times in the early goings, the Team Alliance fighter battled back to snatch victory in brutal fashion, snapping a two-fight skid in the process
*** There are highly touted prospects in MMA, and then there is Thomas Almeida. The young Brazilian phenom has steamrolled every man he’s faced in the cage, and many in the MMA community believe he will be a UFC champion in the near future.
The Chute Boxe representative’s fight against Brad Pickett at UFC 189 figured to be another step up the bantamweight ladder, but the early goings of the tilt saw Almeida on the receiving end of a beating delivered by One Punch.
Pickett put Almeida on the mat with a slick combination and turned the 23-year-old’s face into a crimson mask by the end of the first stanza. Yet, there is a reason for all the hype surrounding Almeida, and a perfectly timed flying knee that dropped Pickett cold was just another example of how dangerous he is.
Despite being battered in the first round, Almeida bounced back strong to earn a highlight-reel finish that will amplify the buzz surrounding him exponentially.
*** Matt Brown came into his fight with Tim Means at UFC 189 with his place in the upper tier of the welterweight division in serious jeopardy. The hard-charging Ohio native battled back from the brink of obscurity to become a certified contender in the 170-pound fold on the strength of a seven-fight winning streak, but back-to-back losses threatened to erase all of his progress.
The Immortal absolutely needed to get the job done on Saturday night, and that’s exactly what he did, as he put the Dirty Bird away with a guillotine choke and put a definitive stamp on a high-paced carnival of violence. With the win, Brown will remain a major player in the heated welterweight title race and draw one of the division’s best in his next outing.
*** No fighter on the card for UFC 189 needed a win more than John Howard. Doomsday came into his bout against Cathal Pendred having dropped three consecutive showings, and a fourth-straight setback would have certainly cost the Boston native his place on the UFC roster for a second time.
Fortunately for Howard, he’ll live to see another day in the Octagon, as the heavy-hitting welterweight edged out The Punisher via split-decision. It was a solid win over a fighter who has made a habit out of getting questionable decisions, as Howard was able to topple the “Pendred Effect” on Saturday night.
*** There is a solid amount of buzz gathering around Cody Garbrandt, and it will continue to grow following his performance against Henry Briones at UFC 189.
The Team Alpha Male bantamweight once again showed his willingness to stand toe-to-toe and exchange leather inside the Octagon, as he was able to beat Briones to the punch early and often in their tilt. The end result saw No Love pick up the unanimous-decision victory and his second consecutive win under the UFC banner.
The Bad
Six years ago Mike Swick entered the Octagon one win away from earning a shot at the Georges St-Pierre’s welterweight title. The only thing standing in his way was up-and-coming knockout artist Dan Hardy, but the American Top Team product appeared poised to derail The Outlaw’s hype train at UFC 105 in Manchester, England.
Unfortunately for Swick, things didn’t go his way that night, and little has in the years that have followed. A rash of injuries and a stomach condition have continuously kept Swick out of action, and the momentum he once had has entirely vanished.
Yet, with a career filled with solid accomplishments and his part in the historical first season of The Ultimate Fighter guaranteed to mark his place in MMA history, Swick will always be an important figure in MMA.
That said, every fighter has different motivations for competing, and Swick was determined to rise above adversity and return to the sport’s biggest stage. A showdown with surging Tristar product Alex Garcia at UFC 189 would mark his opportunity to do so, but the 27-year-old powerhouse would prove to be too much for the savvy veteran to handle.
While Swick was able to keep up with Garcia in the striking game, the Dominican Republic native’s grappling was ultimately the deciding factor in the fight. Garcia was able to put Swick on his back at will, which created a scoring gap the American Kickboxing Academy staple was never able to recover from.
The end result saw Swick come out on the business end of a unanimous decision and suffer his fourth loss in his past five showings in the Octagon.
Just making it back to compete is something Swick can take great pride in, but it will be interesting to see where he chooses to go from here. The majority of his fellow fighters from the inaugural season of TUF have retired and moved on from competing, with only Diego Sanchez remaining relevant in the current landscape of the sport.
Now that Swick is running AKA’s Thailand operation and coaching his own squad of fighters, he certainly has options beyond throwing punches in the cage, but again, every fighter has different motivations.
*** Another fighter who will find himself in rough waters after UFC 189 is British slugger Brad Pickett. One Punch suffered his third-straight setback in the Octagon on Saturday night, when he was starched by a flying knee from Thomas Almeida in the second round of their tilt.
With the loss, Pickett has now dropped four of his past five fights despite attempting to find traction by competing in two different divisions. That’s bad news for Pickett any way you cut it, and his recent slump could put his place on the UFC roster in danger.
The Strange
A lot of hyperbole comes with promoting events in the fight business, and there has certainly been no shortage of bold claims in the UFC’s promotion of “The Conor McGregor Show.” Dana White has suggested the entire country of Ireland shuts down when McGregor fights, and even though we all know this isn’t true, it doesn’t stop the UFC front man from attempting to paint an epic picture.
That said, this writer has spent the entire fight week build-up to UFC 189 in Las Vegas, and can absolutely confirm there is something unique about Notorious’ connection with his countrymen.
The Irish invasion of Las Vegas has been an impressive sight to witness, as scores of MMA fans hailing from the Emerald Isle set up shop and overtook Sin City. Lads gathered with their mates to cheer on their hero up and down the Strip this past week and only served to bolster the buzz surrounding the surging featherweight’s fight on Saturday night.
The best example of the Irish fans’ passion was on display during the pre-fight weigh-ins on Friday afternoon, as nearly 12,000 fans packed into the MGM Grand just to see McGregor hit the scale.
As a writer who has covered countless weigh-ins during his time in the sport, believe me when I tell you the spectacle I witnessed on Friday was something truly unique. Weigh-ins are typically drab but necessary events, but the Irish fighting faithful turned the UFC 189 weigh-ins into a full-throttle party.
Long before the first fighters hit the stage, the raucous crowd was signing along and dancing to every song the UFC’s house DJ spun. In between chants and fist pumping, several fans took the opportunity to launch soccer balls into the crowd that were then swatted from side to side in the arena.
And though the weigh-ins would eventually end, that didn’t mean their party was going to stop, as droves of Irish then moved to the casino floor to continue their celebration.
Las Vegas Metro Police would eventually be called to break up the extravaganza, but that only pushed the merry crowd out on the Strip, where they took their show public and carried on long into the night.
That energy absolutely carried over to Saturday’s event, as they wasted no time rocking the tricolor and firing up the “Ole’ Ole’ Ole'” chants that filled the MGM Grand Garden Arena until McGregor became the interim champion of the featherweight division.
While Brazilian fight fans are known for creating some of the rowdiest environments in all of combat sports, McGregor’s fans created a frenzy that rivaled their best efforts. For the Irish to take over the fight capital of the world the way they did was remarkable.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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