2015: McGregor Mania hits Las Vegas at UFC 189
This writer had been covering MMA for five years before he got the chance to head to the U.S. for his first UFC event Stateside. And boy did I pick a big one.
“International Fight Week” in 2015 was headlined by UFC 189, as a rising Irish star by the name of [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] took on a short-notice opponent many felt would be his Kryptonite.
[autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag] had been drafted in to replace the injured Jose Aldo, who suffered a rib injury courtesy of teammate Jonas Bilarinho during the leadup to the event. The last-minute change of opponent didn’t seem to faze McGregor, who was sung to the octagon by Sinead O’Connor on an unforgettable night at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The main card remains one of the best pay-per-view main cards ever held by the UFC, as the fights produced a string of jaw-dropping finishes and exciting fights.
The co-main event war between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald produced an all-time classic, but even that was overshadowed by the chaotic events of the main event, as McGregor and Mendes went back and forth for two rounds before McGregor’s smartly-targeted body attack paid dividends midway through the second round and opened up Mendes’ chin for the finish. A big left hand found its mark, Mendes hit the canvas and the biggest star in UFC history had captured his first title.
For the duration of fight week, Vegas was green, white and gold as thousands of Irish fans descended on “Sin City.” After McGregor’s win, the bars were drunk dry as the Dubliner’s fans celebrated wildly. When I woke up the following morning there were hungover Irish fans in almost every casino chair. After a night of legendary partying, they looked absolutely finished.
Their hero, however, was just getting started.
Next up: Chaos ahead of UFC 200