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Conor McGregor says Chad Mendes needs 'a backup plan'

Published Jul. 6, 2015 9:33 p.m. ET

Elias Cepeda

Conor McGregor has plenty going against him at UFC 189, Saturday in Las Vegas. For starters, he'll be facing a new opponent on short notice in Chad Mendes after Jose Aldo's rib injuries took him out of the card.

Beyond that, Mendes will absolutely be the best fighter McGregor has ever fought. One big reason for that is Mendes' powerful wrestling takedowns.

One of the main questions of UFC 189 is whether McGregor's stand-up striking will be as effective against Mendes with his constant threat of takedowns as it has been against previous opponents. The "Notorious" title challenger has faced and beaten excellent fighters in the past, no doubt, but none of them were great wrestlers as Mendes is.

In the fifth episode of the excellent UFC 189 Embedded mini-doc series *(Watch out for profanity, you guys)*, McGregor trains in the TUF gym in Las Vegas and dismisses the notion that Mendes will dominate him with wrestling. According to the Dubliner, it isn't about single tactics, no matter how powerful they may be.

McGregor and his believes that the diversity of his abilities will trip up Mendes. "Feel the fight," Conor says after training, to describe his flowing, adaptive way of fighting.

"He can plan his takedowns. Their approach to the game is singular, like many people in the game. They have the same set of movements, the same set of positions that they must succeed in, otherwise they will fail. When you come to me with a singular approach, it's not enough."

Don't expect McGregor to lend his opponent a hand on fight night. However, he did offer Mendes a late suggestion he believes would be helpful.

"If I was to give him some advice," he began.

"It would be to have a backup plan."

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