Chad Mendes: I Would Knock Conor McGregor Out In The First Round, It Wouldn’t Even Be A Fight
No. 1-ranked UFC featherweight Chad Mendes picked up a huge chance at redemption when news broke last night that he would be facing champion Jose Aldo in the main event of August 2’s UFC 176 from Los Angeles.
Fighting with a chip on his shoulder since losing via first round knockout to Aldo at UFC 142 in January 2012, Mendes has won five straight bouts in the Octagon, finishing his opponent with strikes in four.
The surging Team Alpha Male product appeared on today’s edition of “The MMA Hour” to discuss the current state of the talented UFC featherweight division.
One of the hottest topics at 145 pounds is obviously the returning Conor McGregor, who is set to headline UFC Fight Night 46 opposite Cole Miller on July 19 in Dublin.
Mendes also took a moment to address outspoken Irish featherweight, who has taken it upon himself to call out basically the entire UFC 145-pound roster. “Notorious” appeared on the show before Mendes and took the opportunity to call him a “blown-up bantamweight” and the “featherweight version of Phil Baroni”:
“Alright, bottom line, this guy is the biggest shit talker I’ve ever seen or heard in my entire life. Um, basically what this guy’s doing is he’s trying to get up in the top mix as quick as he can because he hasn’t fought anybody.
I don’t know why this guy thinks he can win one or two fights against guys who are on the lower level and expect to be fighting for the title, so he’s trying to run his mouth, he’s talking shit to everybody, he’s trying to call everybody out.
This guy, he needs to fight somebody in the Top 5, first of all, and guaranteed he’s going to get his ass kicked. I mean, I don’t know why this guy feels he needs to run his mouth so much, talking shit. It’s one thing building a fight up, but actually making it personal and talking shit about somebody is not cool.
Ultimately, this guy, he’s a shit talker, he’s trying to get there without doing the work. He needs to take his stupid-ass haircut and his goofy little suit and go fight somebody in the Top 5, and prove himself before he does any of that. He’s made it personal with everybody in the featherweight division.
I would beat the shit out of Conor McGregor. It wouldn’t even be a fight. I would knock that dude out in the first round. Guaranteed. Guy’s a clown.”
Talk inevitably moved on to his second date with Aldo, the dominant champion who has successfully defended his UFC featherweight crown six times, the most recent being a one-sided decision victory over Ricardo Lamas at UFC 169.
Mendes said that he is willing to re-live the bad memories of his first loss to Aldo in order to study what he did wrong the first time out:
“That’s always something that I’m going to pay attention to, along with these last four or five fights. I honestly believe that I’m a completely different fighter. Back then, I probably relied 90 percent on my wrestling, and taking that fight, I probably wasn’t ready for that fight.
I think I had a couple fights in the UFC, still trying to figure my style, myself out as a fighter, and I went in there and you just don’t turn those kind of fights down. I went in there and I feel like I was winning the first round, staying close with him, and you know, obviously got caught. There’s a lot of studying I’m going to be doing on this fight, and I feel like it’s going to be a completely different fight.”
“Money” is man enough to admit what he did wrong in hindsight, but if he wants to bank on ending Aldo’s 17-fight win streak and become the second-ever UFC featherweight champion, he’s going to have to do a lot more than study film.
Aldo’s leg kicks are the most lethal in the sport, and many a wrestler has fallen victim to his precise striking and high-level takedown defense.
Still, it’s hard to argue that the evolving Mendes doesn’t deserve another shot at the champ. Can he capitalize and come out with the belt, or is he just another stop on “Junior’s” long road of destruction?
Photo: Kyle Terada for USA TODAY Sports
