Conor McGregor vs Chad Mendes, who wins?

Been rewatching some of their fights and I am taking Conor. Mendes is stationary as hell, Uriah Faber was even talking about it like it's an advantage against McGregor in an embedded episode. Conor's range will be a problem and of course there is the question of wrestling... Conor is strong and I feel he will be able to stop the TD or get up after taken down. And Chad's top game isn't very active striking wise, so I feel that if he gets on top it wont be too bad for Conor and he can work his way up.

Could be wrong, i'm not going to got he rout of most McGregor fans and claim it's impossible for him to lose this match when he hasn't been against a truly great wrestler yet but I feel he can and will win this fight.

@those_eyes@mrhamwallet@comicstooge@shazam117@kfabz-23@aeron@kgb725@sheenlantern@calvinr@albusan

Here is hoping for McGregor for the simple fact I wanna see Aldo vs McGregor happen when Aldo gets well.

@king_saturn: Wouldn't it happen anyway ?

It would not be likely if Mendes wins as he would be the Interim Featherweight Champion... so Aldo vs Mendes would happen again for the official Championship...

Yup, if he loses we get to see Chad lose to Aldo again *yawn*

Nope, at least not right away, first things first the belts need to be united.

@king_saturn: Has there ever been a fighter go 2-0 then fight the same fighter for a third fight in such a short time ?

Just saw Mendes VS.Aldo and he really impressed me in that fight. Some of the exchanges were so fast if you blink you'd miss the strike. He really has fast hands and hit Aldo with some hard shots. Knocked him down a couple times. I'm not counting out Conor because of the reach advantage he has but he hasn't proven to have Aldos takedown defense, actually I think Aldo has the best takedown defense out of any fighter in the UFC. That's why he's the worst match-up for Mendes.

I say Mendes wins in a five round fight pretty handily.

Conor has shown to have some pretty insane reactions and he's been training his wrestling a ton in preparation for Chad. His range and his reactions I feel will allow him to stuff some of the TD's, and if he does get taken down Chad won't do much. Chad has shown to be lackluster on the ground, he tends to just hold on until his opponent gets up or he lets them up, he doesn't throw many strikes when he's on top.

I'm taking conor but I could be wrong, we will see. No matter what the outcome it's going to be exciting.

I'm hoping Conor. I don't generally make predictions for actual sporting events.

Chad Mendes wins. IMO

This is the good side of McGregor victory.

@thenaughtytitan: Conor's range is significant but the problem is he'll have to constantly be on guard for the takedown takedown, more so than any fight he had ever been in. Conor can't get super aggressive because he'll be open for the take down so he has to be in counter mode the whole fight. Mendes can really strike too so being on guard for the takedown leaves him open for Mendes to hit him.

I actually really don't think Conor has much of a ground game, unlike Say Anderson Silva he doesn't have the background to pull off sweeps and submissions from his back. Also, advantage Mendes in the fact that Conor was training for a stand up fight with Also, while Mendes always trains for fighting longer strikers.

@albusan:

Conor's range is significant but the problem is he'll have to constantly be on guard for the takedown takedown, more so than any fight he had ever been in. Conor can't get super aggressive because he'll be open for the take down so he has to be in counter mode the whole fight. Mendes can really strike too so being on guard for the takedown leaves him open for Mendes to hit him.

Even while constantly being on guard for a TD I still feel Conor has the edge standing... his striking is much more diverse and it's dangerous for Chad considering how stationary he tends to be. Conor is a confident guy, he won't shell up very much because of a potential TD, he feels he can get up even if taken down. If anything he Conor won't throw as much kicks against Mendes and that may actually be a good thing considering Conor's boxing is where he mainly goes for awkward angles and his awkward angle are dangerous for someone who tends to stand in one spot a lot (mendes).

I actually really don't think Conor has much of a ground game, unlike Say Anderson Silva he doesn't have the background to pull off sweeps and submissions from his back. Also, advantage Mendes in the fact that Conor was training for a stand up fight with Also, while Mendes always trains for fighting longer strikers.

His ground game will be good enough IMO, especially since Chad doesn't have a great top game. He's a brown belt and he trains with Gunnar Nelson who has commented on Conor having a good ground game. So what if Conor was training for a stand up fight? Mendes wasn't training for anyone like Conor when he got the fight on short notice and he isn't always training for long strikers lol... not as long as conor and no one in that division is even close to McGregor stylistically so that's a bad point to make.

And everyone is acting like Chad is just going to lay and pray the entire fight when Chad tends to take long pauses between TD's and he's comfortable on his feet... it won't be a complete wrestling clinic even if Chad can take Conor down at will.

@albusan:

You keep saying he's stationary and that's really not true.He doesn't have word class footwork but if you saw Aldo Vs. Mendes 2 he moves really good in and out of the pocket ; no one hits Aldo that many times while being stationary LOL!

I said he tends to be, which be does. His striking defense is based off of staying tight and stationary in order to block shots and not get tagged by them, before exchanges Chad very often stands still, he's often stationary just like I said and no amount of ignoring that happens in his fights will change that. I have a felling you would continue to say he isn't at all stationary so let me have someone who knows far more than you explain to you that Chad can stay in one spot often.

1:17

Sure Chad bounces around between exchanges but during exchanges he's often stationary which won't be good against who hits at weird angles like Conor.

Chad is very often stationary or walking straight forward right in front of his opponent. Look at the Lamas fight for example.

Mendes lacks no confidence, Conor getting up or stuffing takedowns won't hurt him, the treat of it is what will keep conor on defense and taking him down in rounds controlling the pace of the fight will win him rounds.

I agree Conor won't throw many kicks, actually any strike of volume he won't be able to throw. Mendes will probably throw a lot of kicks, and he actually has hard kicks.

Did I ever say Mendes lacked confidence? Conor getting up does actually hurt him because he isn't doing what he wanted to do, he isn't enforcing his will if Conor is able to get up while Mendes is trying to hold him down. I feel that it does hurt him and his chances if McGregor is able to get up... I feel that McGregor has superior stand up. Anyway I don't think Conor will be as affected by the potential take down as you seem to think, you act as if he will be unable to out strike <endes because he will be too cautious but I feel that Mcgregor will still be able to out strike him while being aware of the potential take down.

Wait what? He won't be able to throw any volume? Most likely Conor will be throwing a lot of punches, you're acting like he will shell up from the get go when that doesn't fit his style... if anything Mendes will wait until he starts throwing more volume to try and go for the TD, that's the best opening for a TD, don't know why you think Conor will turtle up when that really doesn't make sense based off of his style and based off of the fact that mendes tends to be patient with the TD.

That doesn't say much to me, Brown belt from who? John Kavanagh his coach, isn't anybody special, there's a reason his student Gunner Nelson went to get his Black Belt from Renzo Gracie! I've heard this story plenty of time for fighters like Conor, their camp says he has a good ground game but nobody really knows, because they never showed it in a fight and then when they actaully fight a great wrestler, and It's no surprise when they get dominated!

He doesn't need insane BJJ to defend mma wrestling... pure BJJ is far different than most MMA grappling exchanges and Conor's MMA grappling has been said to be his best form of grappling by Gunnar. Conor doesn't need to be a BJJ black belt from a great school, he trains MMA grappling which is all forms of grappling in preparation for this fight, he will be working on stifling Chad's grappling and getting out of grappling exchanges which is the exact opposite of what you aim to do in BJJ. He doesn't need insane BJJ to stop Chad's lackluster top game.

This isn't just his camp saying it, it's Gunnar Nelson. A great grappler who is two weight classes above Conor. I feel like his word is something we should take into account and it's ignorant to just ignore it like you're trying to.

Conor hasn't fought a wrestler quite as good as Chad yet but he has shown TDD against Siver... he was able to get out of a deep takedown and he was able to muscle out of another one effortlessly. Not saying this says much about him being able to handle Chad's wrestling, i'm just correcting you on saying he has never shown it before in a fight. He's also shown grappling offense against Max Holloway.

So What if Gunner thinks he's good on the ground, that's what his training partner should say. It's no secret Anderson Silva got his black belt from the Nog brothers, that's why his submission game translated so well in finishing opponents. He's not submitting Mendes, and he's not sweeping, that's all that matters! The best he can hope far is wrapping him up so the ref can stand them up.

So basically ignore anything that anyone says about Conor's ground game, lol. Never said he would submit mendes... but he could potentially do so, anything is possible in a fight. He doesn't need to sweep to get up btw, all he needs to do is work his way up off of the cage or by shimmying out of Chad's grip. Why do you think Submissions and sweeping are the only way to defend against a wrestler? And If he can tie mendes up it may be likely that Chad backs off and stands up like he has done many times before.

That's significant, considering he had no threat of the takedown with Jose but now faces the best wrestler he's ever faced in the UFC LOL! And yes Mendes always train to fight longer strikers, because their all short guys with great wrestling, but I'm not discounting Conor's skills.

You took that out of context. That clearly isn't what I meant. you were trying to say mendes has an advantage because Conor was training for someone else when Mendes I don't even think Mendes had a fight booked and he wasn't training for anyone like Conor. Sure it's significant' but Mendes doesn't have an edge in training because he too was not training to face the type of opponent that Conor is.

Lol at you saying Mendes always trains for long strikers. How about Guida? LOL!

Don't know what you're saying but if Mendes is able to take him down at will and is comfortable on his feet, then he's winning the rounds LOL! That's all that matters.

I'm saying people are ignoring how Chad fights and that he doesn't completely try and grind people. Even if Chad can take Conor down more often than not he won't be completely going for TD's like people are trying to say. That's not how Chad fights.

@albusan: We will see when on july 11 :P

Hey, we will see, I'm comfortable with my prediction and if you're comfortable with yours, that's cool too. I'll be watching either way because the card is good... I'm looking forward to the Robbie Lawlor Vs. Rory fight too.

I se your points and I agree to the fact advantage Conor on the feet, easily and I agree that the traditional BJJ belt system is not the be all end of all of someone's MMA submission skills. Advantage in the grappling, easily Mendes. The only thing about this MMA game is it's hard to be one dimensional in this game any more.

Let me explain, If Conor doesn't show that he has a ground game he's not the next big thing... Champions in recent times to compare him too are probably Jose Aldo, Anthony Pettis and Anderson Silva. All great names for Conor to be compared too but when you study their games, maybe not!

Jose Aldo in my eyes has the best takedown defense pound for pound in the UFC, that's why he's a bad matchup for Mendes and he is a BJJ Black Belt.

Anthony Pettis, maybe the best example, doesn't even have a brown belt in BJJ but has proven to be dangerous off his back. He has a killer instict off his back, his style on the ground is actually not to get up but to go for quick submissions in scrambles, usually he submits someone as soon as a he gets taken down, but if he doesn't, against a BJJ black Belt like RDJ, he will get destroyed on the ground.

Anderson is another guy, He really didn't have a great or even good takedown defense is whole career but he was BJJ belt from the Nog brothers. When he was on his back he used sweeps, submissions like Arm triangles, and had a strong gaurd to trap the guy on top, for the ref to stand them up. Without that part of his game he would have lost his belt definently before he fought Weidman.

I'm just saying it's something to consider before someone gets on this guys hype train. Mendes on the other hand is not one dimensional, he really worked on his stand up game after the first Aldo lost because he knew he was too one dimensional. Since that fight he has five KOs or TKOs out of seven fights. He's actually one of the best strikers! in the UFC featherweight division! So far he's proven to be better at his striking than Conor has shown to be on his grappaling. We shall see!

@albusan: I see what you're saying as well, i'm going to be on his hype train regardless if he has a ground game or not, unlike most of his fans i'm here to stay and I won't abandon ship if he loses. We will see, hoping that Conor confims what Gunnar has been saying, I hope he puts a beating on Mendes so that we get to see Aldo v McGregor next. Honestly one of the main reasons I think he will win is because of how lackluster Chad is when he gets the TD and because of range, I think Frankie would be a much harder match up for Conor which may be why he isn't the one fighting him (that and Mendes vs Conor is a more exciting fight in general).

gregor will be laid out

Ludwig's footwork never worked well for Mendes. He only used it the first round against Aldo and it was his worst round by far.

McGregor is getting taken down, there's no two ways about it. He's never had to prepare for wrestling in his entire career now he's fighting one of the most dangerous wrestlers in the UFC on 5 seconds notice.

@sheenlantern: didnt he prepare for wrestling against Dennis Sever?

@those_eyes: Siver is a kickboxer who never wrestled a day in his life.

I like Conor in this. Mendes will be his toughest challenge to date, but I'm thinking his range and striking should get him the win. If Mendes takes him down, which is a good possibility, then McGregor may be in trouble.

Mendes will get shut down in the first round.

@those_eyes: How will he shut down Mendes from off his back?

Realised I never replied but...

"McGregor is getting taken down, there's no two ways about it. He's never had to prepare for wrestling in his entire career now he's fighting one of the most dangerous wrestlers in the UFC on 5 seconds notice."

^ this, he could be a problem if he can feet the fight upright but I really don't see that happening.

DRAW
~MiB

I really hate the disrespect shown to Mendes.

Conor looked like Skeletor at the weigh-ins. Tough weight cut. If this goes past the 2nd round, I bet he gasses hard.

You know it's funny Connor Mcgregor talks so much smak

when in reality he ain't even fought nobody worth mentioning

Chad Mendes will put that fool in his place

Mongoose

@calvinr: @albusan: @sheenlantern: Chad totally won guys XD!

It was a good fight, Strategic error to go for a gullitine like he did, at the end of the round like that after exoending so much energy, I don't know what he was thinking, the round was almost over, he would have easily won the round if he didn't do that.

But Conor doesn't have a ground game, I think that's obvious and Chad was smacking him on the feet too.so he didn't dominate him until that second round fury.... but let me give credit to Conor.

@sheenlantern you were saying?

Conor took Mendes' best shots, both on foot and takedowns/ground & pound and still got the KO. *smh* Those shots/spin kicks to the mid-section is what did Mendes in. Once that mid-section got shutdown, I think that took the fight out of Chad. Then once Conor survived the ground N' pound and gator-rolled out if the infamous "Team Alpha Male"'gullioutine he was forced to stand-up with Conor which was advantage McGregor and the KO was inevitable.

Big props to Chad (and Conor) staying classy...Great fight

@albusan:

It was a good fight, Strategic error to go for a gullitine like he did, at the end of the round like that after exoending so much energy, I don't know what he was thinking, the round was almost over, he would have easily won the round if he didn't do that.

Chad's doesn't have great fight IQ, he did the same in the guida fight and went for a submission over position and in turn he lost that position just like the mcgregor fight. And most likely Mendes wanted to finish the fight due to exhaustion, his lack of a full camp and Conor's body shots made him gas quickly.

But Conor doesn't have a ground game, I think that's obvious and Chad was smacking him on the feet too.so he didn't dominate him until that second round fury.... but let me give credit to Conor.

It's ridiculous to say he doesn't have a ground game, he's shown BJJ/wrestling skills in multiple fights of his and he quite clearly has a ground game, a great wrestler like Chad grinding Conor for a round doesn't mean he doesn't have any ground game.

A rematch would be interesting for sure.

And Lawler vs Rory was insane, amiright?

@thenaughtytitan: You can't Chad was just grinding him, too me if he was just grinding him he would have got stood up... Like Rogan said Chad was hitting with some hard elbows or punches on top, punishing him. Chad could have passed Conor's guard but he could control Conor easier in his full guard. Conor just looks like he has some seasoned defense and escapes on the ground. Not much else. He has nothing better but to stay in guard but it's not good enough to stop a guy on top from beating on him.

You know what I'm saying, he really is one dimensional.

Jose Aldo jimmy status: RUSTLED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't think we have the same definition of grinding and I think you think it means dry humping or lay and pray which grinding to me is taking your opponent down and controlling them while chipping away at them with strikes... which is what Chad did. Chad was hitting him with some hard elbows and punches, never said otherwise.

You know what I'm saying, he really is one dimensional.

Honestly I don't know what you're saying, first you say he has zero ground game and now you are acknowledging his defense and ground game. One of if not the best wrestlers in the division taking Conor down and grinding him some on 2 weeks notice isn't enough to say he doesn't have a ground game.

Aldo vs McGregor.... amazing :D
McGregor proved to be great fighter!

@thenaughtytitan: Conor is just seasoned as far as training goes, I saw the fight, saying no ground game is just a term for someone that is lacking by a wide margin, to what a top fighter should have. If he beats Jose Aldo, to me he'd easily have the worst ground game out of any champion in the UFC. He just is seasoned in the basics. It's really obvious, I'm surprised you're arguing otherwise, his takedown defense isn't there either, tough it's not mediocre, he was easily taken down multiple times.

Don't put words into my mouth and act like I was disagreeing with anything other than you refusing to acknowledge McGregor having any ground game. It's a dumb thing to say, simple as that. One of if not the best wrestlers in the entire division was able to grind and takedown mcgregor, your takeaway is that McGregor has a zero ground game. How am I supposed to know you're exaggerating when on multiple forums there are a bunch of dumbarses saying the same thing only they aren't exaggerating. Of course McGregor isn't among the elite of the elite on the ground, he needs to work on it but remember, he had 2 weeks notice when he'd been training for a striker, that's something to take not of.

@thenaughtytitan: I'm not putting words in your mouth I'm just explaining what I meant, no ground game is just a term. Let me give some credit to Conor because he was smart for attacking the body, I think a shorter fighter was preparing for strikes to his head. So Conor was smart to go to the body.

Chad did look like he was breathing hard in the middle of the first round, also I'm not sure if it was more Conor or Mendes but Mendes really stood infront of Conor alot on the feet.

@thenaughtytitan: An internet cookie to the man who brings me the gif of Conor dropping Mendes like a sack of potatoes.

Silly Goose.

@comicstooge probably thinks about Conor when he has sex with his girlfriend to make his orgasms more intense.

Anyone have an opinion on how much the fact that Mendes didn't get to train full played a part?