Well now that Chad Mendes versus Conor McGregor is official for the interim title at UFC 189 we can officially start the build-up between the two.
While speaking toe FOX Sports, Mendes explained that he feels he can win this fight three ways; KO, submission or to grind out the win.
“I see myself beating this guy three ways,” Mendes told FOX Sports. “I’m either going to knock him unconscious because he drops his hands a ton and gets lazy in there. I’m going to take him down and submit him because he gives up. Or I’m going to have him on his back crying for his mama for five, five-minute rounds, beating the crap out of him. I’m good with all three of them.”
Some people might give McGregor the edge due to the fact he has been preparing for a fight to happen on July 11th for months now. Only recently we learned of Aldo’s rib injury and only then was Mendes notified that he could be a replacement in this fight. The 30-year-old does not seem worried about the lack of camp for this fight.
“I’ve got two weeks to get as sharp as I can,” Mendes said. “I live a healthy lifestyle so I’m in pretty decent shape year round, so I’ve been hitting it hard as soon as I found out. So I’m just kind of fine tuning it now, but I’ll stay injury free and get that weight down. You guys should see the original O.G. Chad Mendes get in there on July 11 and whoop some ass.”
Mendes also believes this is a worse fight for McGregor than facing Aldo and this is down to the skillset possessed by the Team Alpha Male fighter. He believes that his strength is McGregor’s weakness.
“We all know Aldo’s a super athlete, very dangerous stand up, but those are the type of guys that Conor does the best with. We have not seen him with many fighters that have the wrestling, that have the explosiveness to get inside and close the distance on him. The fights that I’ve seen him lose, those guys were able to get him down on the ground.
“That right there I feel is a huge hole. I think my style with my wrestling, my athleticism, my speed, and the ability to knock somebody out, the power in my hands, I feel like that’s a sh–tier fight for him.”
I would recommend checking out the full interview with FOX Sports here.