5 Best Conor McGregor UFC fights

#2 Chad Mendes

UFC 189: Mendes v McGregor

After McGregor saw Jose Aldo pull out of their scheduled title-fight due to a rib injury, it was announced Chad Mendes was to step in on less than two weeks’ notice to face the Dubliner for the interim featherweight belt.

With McGregor’s ground game seen as his main weakness, the decision to take a short-notice fight with Mendes - arguably the division’s best wrestler - was seen as a brave one.

And so it proved.

The bout started well for Conor, as he used his array of striking techniques to keep Mendes at bay, repeatedly attacking the body which allowed him to stay out of takedown range.

But, midway through the first round, Mendes started to get inside and once the Team Alpha Male fighter closed the distance he was able to initiate clinches and score a takedown, which he used to land some good ground-and-pound, eventually opening up a cut on McGregor’s eye.

McGregor delivers another kick to the body

The second round started as the last had ended, with Mendes managing a takedown and using top position to score some ground-and-pound, however, a guillotine attempt allowed McGregor to scramble and as the fight returned to the feet Conor realised he needed to up the pace – which he did.

‘Notorious’ started to pepper the body once again, and as the strike count increased, Mendes began to wilt. With ‘Money’ backed up against the cage, McGregor landed a flurry of laser-like straight lefts which sent Mendes crashing to the canvas, and following a few more shots the referee was forced to intervene and wave the fight over.

With the victory over Mendes, McGregor now had the interim belt and a ticket for the next shot at undisputed champion Jose Aldo. But, perhaps, more importantly, he’d not only proven he could get past an accomplished wrestler, but he'd shown he can overcome adversity after coming back from some sticky moments in his toughest UFC test to date.