Conor McGregor sent a message to his doubters with a straight left hand.
McGregor stopped Chad Mendes with second-round punches to capture the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight crown in the UFC 189 headliner on Saturday before a raucous pro-Irish crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Mendes (17-3, 8-3 UFC), who accepted the bout as a short-notice replacement for injured champion Jose Aldo, wilted 4:57 into round two.
McGregor (18-2, 6-0 UFC) dealt with the first significant adversity since arriving in the UFC. Mendes secured four takedowns, opened a cut near his right eye with a slashing elbow and piled on the punishment with ground-and-pound from inside guard. McGregor bided his time, and Mendes made a tactical error late in the second round, as he surrendered top position while fishing for a guillotine choke. McGregor escaped to his feet, uncorked a series of accurate punches, dropped the fatigued Team Alpha Male standout with a straight left and polished off his 14th consecutive victory with unanswered rights to a turtled Mendes.