Just Rewatched Conor Mc G vs. Mendez

[Jorge Luis Borges]

Yeah, really. This wasn't some regular under card fight. These are not up and coming fighters looking to make a name for themselves. These are two veterans fighting for an interim title head lining a card! You cannot allow high level fights with title implications happen on short notice.

Loook at what Werdum did. Very smart. He was going to fight his scheduled opponent with injuries but when Cain pulled out so did he. Fighting a contender on such short notice can ruin his career. Chad wasn't as smart and got KTFO by a guy he can beat. Does that sound smart to you? (Keep in mind I get that the UFC wants to make money and pressure guys, I'm saying it is bad for the fighters). It would have been equally bad to see McGregor get grapplefucked by Mendes and lose to a guy he didn't prepare for. When the stakes are high you can't do that shit.

1. I respectfully disagree. As a fan, nothing is worse for the sport than the frequency with which fights are canceled. Injuries, and athletes competing in sub-optimal conditions are part of sports. Heck, last year in the NBA finals one team had two of their three best players sitting injured on the bench.

2. If Mendes was so thoroughly unprepared, then it was his responsibility to refuse the fight. Other fighters refuse short notice bouts all the time.

3. At the end of the day, I find it entirely plausible or even probable that Mendes could defeat McGregor under better conditions. But in the actual fight that actually happened between the two, he did not. He showed that his strengths could be effectively used against McGregor, but he ate too many hard shots, both to the head and to the body, while trying to execute his gameplan.

4. I think a big part of the fallout from this fight was that a lot of fans were very invested in seeing McGregor's hype train finally get derailed. When that didn't happen, rather than stepping back and reflecting upon the notion that despite his weaknesses, McGregor is actually a really talented fighter and not a product of hype, many of his anti-fans searched for a reason to continue believing that the guy is all hype. I mean, the guy just stopped two of the best FWs in the world back to back and you have people who are unabel to give him any credit for wither other than having a bit of luck in the Aldo fight.

 

[Hoop]

I think Conor was in a tough spot a couple times, but through sheer grit and determination, he wouldn't allow himself to lose. That's one of his best traits is his ability to stay calm under pressure. A lot of people start to fade when they're put on a disadvantageous position, but Conor has that champion mindset where he just can't lose.
It defies all logic, but it's worked for him so far.

I think that's what we learned from that fight. Aldo can say he was watching a soccer match when the fight was on, but I've no doubt he watched it live or soon after, and not just him, but other fighters thought a bit differently on Conor's mentality. Of course there's others who'll say it was totally down to Mendes lack of preparation.

For the people who are saying Mendes tagged Conor a lot; no doubt he did. And not trying to make excuses on Conor's part, but look at his stance in that fight compared to other ones. That was a stuck in the mud exhibition in parts. He would have to keep his hands down low as well as the threat of the takedown was there, too. But he took the fight with an injured knee that he said didn't allow him or he was reluctant to do some things.

Mendes didn't have ideal preparation either. I didn't think it was overall really that great of a fight. I've seen sites ranking it in their top 10 fights of the year, but I didn't think it was anywhere close to the Bermudez and Stephens fight in terms of excitement or the comeback wasn't as good as Almeida's against Pickett. Definitely was the card of the year, imo.

 

[kpt018]

1. I respectfully disagree. As a fan, nothing is worse for the sport than the frequency with which fights are canceled. Injuries, and athletes competing in sub-optimal conditions are part of sports. Heck, last year in the NBA finals one team had two of their three best players sitting injured on the bench.

2. If Mendes was so thoroughly unprepared, then it was his responsibility to refuse the fight. Other fighters refuse short notice bouts all the time.

3. At the end of the day, I find it entirely plausible or even probable that Mendes could defeat McGregor under better conditions. But in the actual fight that actually happened between the two, he did not. He showed that his strengths could be effectively used against McGregor, but he ate too many hard shots, both to the head and to the body, while trying to execute his gameplan.

4. I think a big part of the fallout from this fight was that a lot of fans were very invested in seeing McGregor's hype train finally get derailed. When that didn't happen, rather than stepping back and reflecting upon the notion that despite his weaknesses, McGregor is actually a really talented fighter and not a product of hype, many of his anti-fans searched for a reason to continue believing that the guy is all hype. I mean, the guy just stopped two of the best FWs in the world back to back and you have people who are unabel to give him any credit for wither other than having a bit of luck in the Aldo fight.

I think the it is far worse to have a spectacle instead of a high level MMA bout. Yes, injuries definitely suck, but when you have short notice fights you are not seeing the best each fighter has to offer. Mendes gassing is a perfect example. That was not the best Mendes. Maybe McGregor still beats him, but we don't know.

Again, it goes both ways. It would equally suck to see McGregor lose to a guy he didn't prepare for. Lucky for him, Mendes couldn't get into fight shape.

I actually really like McGregor. I think he has the best hands in the sport and is a ton of fun to watch. But I know there is a big hole in his game! I have no interest in watching him lose.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

I think the it is far worse to have a spectacle instead of a high level MMA bout. Yes, injuries definitely suck, but when you have short notice fights you are not seeing the best each fighter has to offer. Mendes gassing is a perfect example. That was not the best Mendes. Maybe McGregor still beats him, but we don't know.

Again, it goes both ways. It would equally suck to see McGregor lose to a guy he didn't prepare for. Lucky for him, Mendes couldn't get into fight shape.

I actually really like McGregor. I think he has the best hands in the sport and is a ton of fun to watch. But I know there is a big hole in his game! I have no interest in watching him lose.

I agree that it goes both ways, and you have been really balanced about that. But it simply isn't possible to always have fighters at their best.

 

[kpt018]

I agree that it goes both ways, and you have been really balanced about that. But it simply isn't possible to always have fighters at their best.

True, but the UFC can at least do what is in it's power to try to achieve that.

And this doesn't apply to low level fighters, it only bugs me when it happens on the highest stage.

Cheers for the good talk. Mostly turds in the heavies.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

1. I respectfully disagree. As a fan, nothing is worse for the sport than the frequency with which fights are canceled. Injuries, and athletes competing in sub-optimal conditions are part of sports. Heck, last year in the NBA finals one team had two of their three best players sitting injured on the bench.

2. If Mendes was so thoroughly unprepared, then it was his responsibility to refuse the fight. Other fighters refuse short notice bouts all the time.

3. At the end of the day, I find it entirely plausible or even probable that Mendes could defeat McGregor under better conditions. But in the actual fight that actually happened between the two, he did not. He showed that his strengths could be effectively used against McGregor, but he ate too many hard shots, both to the head and to the body, while trying to execute his gameplan.

4. I think a big part of the fallout from this fight was that a lot of fans were very invested in seeing McGregor's hype train finally get derailed. When that didn't happen, rather than stepping back and reflecting upon the notion that despite his weaknesses, McGregor is actually a really talented fighter and not a product of hype, many of his anti-fans searched for a reason to continue believing that the guy is all hype. I mean, the guy just stopped two of the best FWs in the world back to back and you have people who are unabel to give him any credit for wither other than having a bit of luck in the Aldo fight.

In terms of your points this is where I agree/disagree.

1. Totally agree, injuries are a bummer and ruin eventual outcomes of games in sports. Look at the Patriots this year, they blew their ability for home-field advantage through the Playoffs on games they had no business losing which most probably doesn't happen with a fully fit Edelman, Solder, Amendola etc.

2. I agree in theory but on the whole I disagree, this is why... The man won 500k for that fight, just for fighting. If he had won, he would have had an argument for some more money (not sure if a win bonus was available for him). The man had to take the fight, and he was well on the way to erking out a victory if he hadn't been overzealous.

3. I also find it plausible, and I honesty believe the "body shots" were overrated in this fight - he didn't land that many. He landed near to zero in the second round as he spent it all on his back. I honestly think Chad gassed himself in this fight.

4. I think MMA die hards want him to lose because he has glaring weaknesses. When you think of most people that are hated in MMA it's because of a glaring reason. GSP got a lot of hate, and that was because we all knew that if he stayed standing a little more often he'd probably not be so "invincible". Jon Jones gets hate for his personality, but I think majority of people love his style because he's amazing in all areas. Pettis got hate because we all knew all you had to do was wrestle him, Weidman was another because his run seemed flukey too. Ronda the same, because of similar reasons. Die hards hate McGregor (in my opinion) because he's just not that well rounded and it's frustrating to see guys not be able to beat this hype-train when it's so glaringly obvious how to.

 

[Iamlegion666]

Pettis got hate because we all knew all you had to do was wrestle him, .

I didn't know Pettis got hate, was it for the long lay offs? Curious because I have never heard this theory of being hated for a weakness before now.

Weidman was another because his run seemed flukey too.

Gonna have to disagree here, we all know people hated Weidman for one reason, he beat Anderson, other wise people were just neutral towards him.

 

[Gonzaginator]

Thats all I remember

Selective memory. Let me cure that for you.

 

[Porradossaurus]

1. Conor showed he is vulnerable to a strong wrestling game.
2. Conor showed great heart for coming up from an unfavorable position.

 

[Martinezzz]

Selective memory. Let me cure that for you.

Post that gif where Mendes is gauging Conor s eyes .

 

[Cry0Therapy737]

The thing is tho, he wasn't begging the ref. That's just some meme his haters invented. He wasn't getting his head knocked in. Chad was LNP'ing worse than clay Guida. I'm sorry mate. Go back & watch it.

To be fair Chad was done 80 seconds into the fight, he had no gas left in the tank which is pretty alarming if you're a Conor fan.

I acknowledge he's amazing on the feet you can't deny that after the Aldo KO but if a guy who is completely dead and running on empty can hold you down for 95 percent of the round that's not a good sign going forward when you wanna fight bigger people like Khabib or a cardio machine like Frankie.

 

[Martinezzz]

When you get hit alot your cardio is going down just look at those gifs how manny strikes Conor landed and how manny Chad.

I m happy that Mendes finally STFU with his whining when Franie KTFO Mendes . If Frankie didnt KTFO Mendes we would still hear about Mendes camp

 

[pinkybrief]

According to Conor fans, Mendes didn't do shit in that fight.

rewatched that fight, mendes was throwing heavy stuff at the bottom, conor was in deep waters there before the sick KO

 

[BigNuggetIce]

To be fair Chad was done 80 seconds into the fight, he had no gas left in the tank which is pretty alarming if you're a Conor fan.

I acknowledge he's amazing on the feet you can't deny that after the Aldo KO but if a guy who is completely dead and running on empty can hold you down for 95 percent of the round that's not a good sign going forward when you wanna fight bigger people like Khabib or a cardio machine like Frankie.

I wouldn't say Chad was done 80 seconds in. In fact I think that's a huge exageration. As for the Khabib/Frankie part, those guys will be tough, but Conor defended 3 of Mendes takedowns with a bum knee & got up twice so I think he can do it.

 

[Gonzaginator]

1. Conor showed he is vulnerable to a strong wrestling game.
2. Conor showed great heart for coming up from an unfavorable position.

Both points are true to a certain degree but with a proper camp (not on short notice) to apply his wrestling strategy vs Conor one could argue that Mendes would have handled Conor fairly easy. I don't think the better fighter won, Mendes just flat out gassed after a few minutes. Very similar to Brock vs. Carwin. If these guys fight 10 more times and if Mendes was actually in shape I'd assume he wins at least 7 of those 10.