Chad Mendes: If I Was Aldo, I Would Have Punched Him In The F—–g Face
Just three days from his pivotal main event showdown against No. 3-ranked Ricardo Lamas in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 63, former UFC featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes also has another fight on his mind.
He knows a thing or two about both sides of the blockbuster upcoming main event between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor at July’s UFC 189 from Las Vegas. He’s shared the Octagon with Aldo twice, with their UFC 179 war ranking as many fans and media members’ “Fight of the Year” for 2014.
With McGregor, well, it’s a different story, as the Irish trash talker has made Mendes the subject of many an off-color joke just as he has the rest of the top contenders in the 145-pound division. “Notorious” told the shorter Mendes that he would “rest his b—- on his forehead” during a TV spot that aired in his native Ireland, and not surprisingly, it didn’t sit too well with the Team Alpha Male member.
Aldo may have beaten him for the title twice, but the two have a mutual respect that was on full display after their last battle. Because of that, it’s no surprise to hear Mendes pick the dominant champ to retain his belt at UFC 189. He met up with MMAJunkie Radio to give his take on the biggest bout of the year:
“In my opinion, breaking down the fight, I see Aldo winning the fight. I could see McGregor giving Aldo some issues. Aldo has had some issues with southpaws in the past, but he always seems to figure them out. One thing Conor does really good is using his range. He’s very lengthy and he punches well and keeps on the outside. That could be a problem for Aldo. But, McGregor keeps his stance very wide. Aldo has some of the best, or the best leg kicks in the sport. He’s going to eat that leg up if McGregor doesn’t check his kicks.
“(McGregor’s) always talking about being fluid and movement, but in every fight I’ve seen he doesn’t seem to move his feet very much. We’ll see. I’m actually pretty excited about this fight.”
An open and honest assessment of the fight, Mendes seems to know just what he’s looking for out of both fighters. There’s no doubt McGregor uses his range and size to his full advantage, and his knockout power has spelled the doom of four of his five UFC opponents thus far. But they haven’t faced a striker as talented nor as powerful as Aldo, whose leg kicks could definitely be considered the best in the history of the sport.
McGregor’s best skill could be his promotion, which he’s used to propel himself to a title shot and lift the entire division into mainstream prominence during the recent 10-city UFC 189 World Championship Tour. Many have blasted “Notorious” for disrespecting Aldo during the media obligations, as he grabbed the belt from the champion’s hands during yesterday’s final stop in Dublin.
Mendes said that if it were him holding that belt, he wouldn’t have reacted with the calmness and class that Aldo did:
“You don’t touch somebody else’s belt – that’s their belt,” Mendes said. “If I was Aldo, I would have punched him right in the f-cking face. I don’t know. Aldo played it off. Honestly, I feel bad for Aldo having to do all that stuff with that moron. The guy’s got to just be the most annoying person to do a media tour with. It sucks for him.”
It may suck for him, but it may also motivate the champ to put on one of his best performances, something that he’s been criticized for lacking during his victorious but at times safe UFC tenure.
Mendes is excited to watch Aldo throw down with McGregor, yet this weekend he has an extremely tough task in front of him in Lamas. With two prior losses to the champ, should his attention be focused on the challenge at hand?
Photo Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
