UFC 189 became the largest mixed martial arts pay-per-view on U.S. soil of all time. It made a live gate of over $7 million and catapulted the now-interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor into the stratosphere, subsequently naming himself and Ronda Rousey as the two biggest stars in MMA today. The 27-year-old made $500,000 for his second-round stoppage of Chad Mendes and is expected to face the longtime featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, later on this year.
However, at UFC 189, McGregor was taken down almost at will by his former NCAA Division I All-American wrestling opponent. The latter fighter dominated the first round with his ability to control the action on the ground. The second round gave way to more of the same, as McGregor spent most of the time on his back.
After fighting his way back to his feet with little time left, the Irishman viciously attacked Mendes and knocked him out soon thereafter. However, McGregor had no response for his opponent’s takedowns and more than likely would have lost the bout had Mendes not gotten tired at the end of the second round.
Despite his loss, however, many thought that Mendes created the blueprint to beating the new interim champion.
@chadmendes showed some serious holes in the game of Mcgregor! #UFC189
— Chris Kelades (@keladesmma) July 12, 2015
Conor McGregor the new interim champ!! However @josealdojunior would have loved it.. It’s obvious where mcgregors weakness is #UFC189
— Mohit Gohal (@gohal25) July 12, 2015
In fact, due to a knee injury, McGregor hadn’t done one round of live wrestling prior to his matchup against Mendes. According to Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting, the Irishman’s coach, John Kavanagh, stated:
…when we were walking out to this fight it was in the back of my mind that we haven’t done a single round of live wrestling…
… Really the first round of full wrestling was done in that fight…
…That was the first full test on the knee and he flew through it. He (McGregor) was able to deal with some oppositions.
Given his wrestling deficiencies, if McGregor significantly improved his takedown defense, perhaps performing at the highest levels could be sustained over a longer period of time. The Irishman’s nemesis, Aldo, is one of the most successful takedown defensive practitioners in the UFC today. Coach Mike R of Bloody Elbow said:
[Aldo’s] take downs reveals a level of defensive wrestling skill which should give pause to any potential Aldo opponents who want to defeat him by taking him to the mat…
…there is no doubt that he also possesses a scary level of skill in defensive wrestling…
In fact, throughout his 11-year MMA career, Aldo’s elite wrestling defense has allowed him to remain on his feet, having rarely been taken down and remaining undefeated for the last nine years. When Aldo and McGregor meet to unify the UFC featherweight title, as they both specialize in the stand-up art of fighting, their bout will most likely represent one of epic proportions.
At the same time, irrespective of the Aldo/McGregor outcome, the Irishman may not have to learn how to wrestle, per se, but it would behoove the interim champion to develop takedown defense skills, akin to those of Aldo, in an effort to remain atop the featherweight division for years to come.
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