Conor McGregor lived up to the hype, and he's walking away from UFC 189 with the interim featherweight title firmly strapped around his waist.
Long-considered a protected contender who the UFC wouldn't throw in against a power wrestler, the impossibly brash Irishman survived a terrifying trial by fire against Chad Mendes, finishing the division's best wrestler with a brain-scrambling left cross in the waning moments of the second stanza.
It was a marvelous first round, as the taller McGregor tagged Mendes at range with rib-roasting kicks and hard punches, while Mendes took McGregor down multiple times, busting him open with a massive elbow to the head.
Mendes wasted little time taking the bout to the floor to start the second stanza, controlling much of the five minutes with elbows from top. Uninterested in slowly chipping away from top control, though, Mendes dove for a guillotine, allowing McGregor to get back to his feet.
Once back upright, McGregor started lighting Mendes up with crisp combinations, sending the Team Alpha Male product careening to the cage with a crushing left hand. From there it was academic, as "Notorious" landed several punches before referee Herb Dean stepped in with three seconds left in the frame.
Bring on Jose Aldo!
McGregor said he had bigger injuries leading up to the fight than Aldo did. “His day will come."
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 12, 2015
