Chad Mendes Admits He Should Have Kept Throwing Elbows At UFC 189

It appeared that Chad Mendes was well on his way to dominating Conor McGregor in his perceived weakness of wrestling in the main event of last night’s (Sat., July 11, 2015) UFC 189 pay-per-view (PPV) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada (full highlights here).

But the ‘Notorious’ showed excellent patience and perseverance, capitalizing on an ill-fated choke attempt by Mendes to open up with a bevy of powerful strikes that earned the stoppage with just three seconds left in the second round of the classic bout.

Mendes knows what he did wrong, admitting at the post-fight press conference that he made a mistake in going for the submission rather than holding top position:

“I felt like I was doing great the first two rounds. Especially that second one, I was controlling the fight the whole time. But I took a risk. I went for the submission. I probably should have just stayed there and kept throwing the elbows, but I’m trying to finish the fight. That’s the risk you take and that’s the fight game.”

‘Money’ was indeed controlling the fight with a smothering top game headlined by some vicious elbows from inside McGregor’s guard, and the second round was clearly all Mendes. He said that in hindsight, he would have simply stayed there and rode out the frame:

“I felt like I had complete control on top,” Mendes said. “I felt like it wasn’t a whole lot he could do when I was on top of him. I made the mistake of trying to go for the submission. I could have stayed there; I probably should have and just finished the round out like that. It was just a mistake I made and that’s just how it goes.”

But when McGregor shook free of the choke attempt and began to back Mendes into a corner with his range and accurate striking, it looked like ‘Money’ was out of gas after taking the fight on extremely short notice. The Team Alpha Male standout detailed how he got tired quickly, and would love to face McGregor a second time with a full training camp behind him:

“I was pretty damn tired honestly at the end of that round,” Mendes said. “But I took that fight on short notice. That’s the risk I was taking. I would absolutely love to get back in there again with a full training camp and try there. Hopefully, we can make that happen one day.”

Mendes wants a rematch with ‘Notorious’ but with three losses in UFC title fights, that fight could be light years away for him as he’s stuck in a sort of featherweight purgatory. McGregor also has to face off with heated rival champion Jose Aldo, and a bout with top0ranked Frankie Edgar should be looming after that.

Mendes did the UFC a huge favor by stepping up to save UFC 189, but by committing a crucial error by going for an unsuccessful choke, he may have relegated himself to bridesmaid status in the buzzing UFC featherweight division. How can ‘Money’ claw his way back to top contender status, if at all?

Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale for USA TODAY Sports