Chad Mendes gets call to fight McGregor for UFC title

“So nothing has changed for me other than it’s now public”.

The Brazilian sustained a rib injury in training last Tuesday and his participation in the fight has been in doubt since initial reports from his camp suggested he may have incurred a fractured rib.

UFC 189: McGregor vs. Mendes takes place on Saturday, July 11, 2015 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

However, talk of a European title fight between the two athletes could be off the mark due to the time difference between the USA and Ireland and knock-on effects in terms of decreasing revenue from pay-per-view TV subscriptions and advertising interest. After watching a clip of Mendes talking trash, McGregor said “Every time I face one of these individuals, they break. It’s like, I’ll sacrifice eating a few days to get in there and do that”. But Mendes’ wrestling- and grappling-based style gives him an edge over McGregor and will certainly force McGregor to adjust his gameplan.

Conor McGregor will not be fighting Jose Aldo in UFC 189 anymore but he still has something to say about the UFC Featherweight Champion.

It’s a big move for the UFC, and the announcement yesterday that Dublin will host another Fight Night in October, as I previously predicted, is brilliant news for us out here.

‘My decision was made in respect to the UFC and the fans that see me as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

There is one way that McGregor can come out ahead in all of this: A decisive win over Mendes could go a long way in building up the controversial fighter’s credibility.

Much like his teammates Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez and bantamweight champ T.J. Doctors have cleared him to fight.

“If you’re asking me if I’d like to fight Floyd, who wouldn’t want to dance around the ring for $180 million?” McGregor is all too aware of the negativity, but once again, like questions about his ability to sprawl on a double-leg, it comes with the territory. That’s why I’m 100 per cent OK taking this fight on two weeks’ notice. At worst, he’s beaten up a bunch of carefully selected opponents, who all got the call because Zuffa executives believed they would make him look good. I’ve pinpointed what those are and I’ve got to focus on those, but it’s not anything new though.