Conor McGregor STUNNING Fight Prediction – Breaking MMA News

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By Barnaby “Mattress Man” Kellaway

The time is almost upon us: as I write this UFC 189 is hours away. For many this is a one man show but let us not forget the treat we have right before the main event: Robbie Lawler defends his welterweight title for the first time in a rematch with Rory MacDonald. Then it is the big one, the most anticipated fight in recent memory, the Conor McGregor show: McGregor versus Chad Mendes for the interim featherweight championship.

Conor McGregor Vs Chad Mendes

This is one of the biggest fights in UFC history: the gate comes in at $7.1m, which is the biggest ever for the UFC in the United States. In addition the PPV numbers and the attendance for the weigh-ins are on course to break records. These statistics are even more impressive when you consider that McGregor’s original opponent, the champion Jose Aldo, had to withdraw through injury. What this tells us is that this entire event is about the Irishman. He is the one bringing thousands across from Ireland, he is the one pushing the PPV numbers and ultimately he is the main attraction. He could be fighting “Bad” Brad Berkwitt and people would pay to watch.

But in this instance he will be fighting the number one ranked featherweight in the world – Chad Mendes is unlike anyone McGregor has faced before. Throughout McGregor’s rise to the top experts and fellow professionals have asked, how will McGregor do against a wrestler? Now we find out. Chad Mendes is a two time NCAA All-American, an NCAA Championship runner up and former Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year. If anyone in the division can make McGregor pay for a limited wrestling background then Mendes is that man.

Despite having made vast improvements in his striking in recent years, knocking out four of his last five victims, Mendes will revert to his roots on Saturday night. The plan will be to close the distance and in doing so make McGregor’s considerable six-inch reach advantage as insignificant as possible. If he can back him up and set the pace of the fight then Mendes stands a good chance of victory.

McGregor will be anticipating forward pressure and counteracting it will be have been a massive part of his pre-fight preparation. In previous fights he has demonstrated a good sprawl to evade the takedown and has also shown a decent hip escape to get back on his feet. But as he has never faced a world class wrestler before, it remains to be seen how well he will defend in Saturday’s main event.

As well as wrestling, Mendes has the advantage of five round fight experience. Albeit this has only happened once but on that occasion he did look strong for the duration. McGregor on the other hand not only has never gone five rounds but he has only gone three rounds once. Combine this with the fact that the Irishman has to cut significantly more weight than Mendes (some reports claim 27lbs) to make 145lbs then if this fight goes into the championship rounds you have to favour Mendes.

Where McGregor has the advantage is in striking. He has more power and a greater variety of shots to pick from than Mendes. He has often claimed to hit harder than anyone else in the division and he is right, when he lands, people hit the floor. That is not to say that Mendes is weak, he can also put people to sleep, just not as quickly as McGregor. When he couples slick boxing with wild kicking techniques, the opponent has a tendency to second guess every shot that is coming at him, compromising his defence.

The power differential is what will decide this fight. The best chance Mendes has is to get McGregor on his back and go for a submission or grind out a decision. Whilst both these scenarios are perfectly plausible, we would be naive to think that McGregor has no wrestling ability whatsoever. He is an incredible athlete and shows new expertise every time he enters the octagon, so do not be surprised if this time round he has become a perfectly competent wrestler, particularly with regards to defense Expect for McGregor to be able to keep a good portion of this fight on the feet. It is in these standing exchanges that he will overwhelm Mendes.

Conor McGregor by KO

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