MCGREGOR ON BEATING MENDES: “I KNEW MY POWER AND PRESSURE WAS TOO MUCH FOR HIM.”

LOS ANGELES, CA – The following quotes and videos are from tonight’s FOX SPORTS 1 UFC 189 POSTFIGHT SHOW hosted by Jay Glazer, with light heavyweight championDaniel Cormier and Kenny Florian providing analysis. Ariel Helwani conducted interviews.

FOX UFC analyst Kenny Florian on UFC 189: “There was so much hype and pressure to deliver on the shoulders of McGregor, and people said surely it couldn’t live up to the hype. It surpassed it! That was the best main card ever, and for McGregor to win was great.”

FOX UFC analyst Daniel Cormier on McGregor: “When those guys walked out to the Octagon, I said I wouldn’t want to follow Robbie and Rory, and McGregor and Mendes delivered.”

Florian on how McGregor beat Mendes: “Chad was doing what he should – takedowns. But Conor was chipping away with body shots and put money in the bank. Chad gassed because of those body shots. When you’re as accurate as Conor, that’s what they do.”

Cormier on the turning point of the fight: “When McGregor got up in the second, Chad seemed to get a little desperate going for a guillotine choke. The punches and front kicks to the stomach really took a toll. Conor would have ended it in the third if he didn’t end it at the end of the second. Chad couldn’t keep taking what Conor was giving him.”

Florian on how McGregor answered a lot of critics’ questions tonight: “Make no mistake, Mendes was winning the fight. He was doing unbelievable in the fight. But we had so many questions about McGregor answered tonight: can Conor deal with grappling? Yes, he can. He got to his feet repeatedly after getting taken down. Can he deal with the adversity? Yes, he was cut and kept fighting. He went and got the win. That’s a great W for Conor.”

Cormier on McGregor’s impressive performance: “One thing we learned was Conor has an unbelievable chin. He continued to go forward and never panicked when he was on his back. He waited for the opportunity to get up after Chad took him down, and got up and went back to hitting him. He was talking to Chad Mendes through whole thing. When McGregor got back to his feet at the end of the second, Chad looked like he panicked.”

Cormier on McGregor facing the rest of the division now: “Jose Aldo is a little more nervous right now. I’m picking McGregor in any standup fight he gets now, and all wrestlers are scared of him now. There’s one guy who still wants to fight him: Frankie Edgar. But Aldo’s up next. We want to see McGregor vs. Aldo next.”

Cormier on McGregor’s rise in popularity: “Conor is good for business in the UFC. This is a featherweight, one of the lighter divisions in the UFC, who’s now the most popular guy in the UFC. He’s one of the most popular athletes in all of sports now, I believe.”

McGregor on how he feels winning the title: “I’m overwhelmed. When I stopped my opponent I jumped up on the cage I was so excited. I’m blown away. I put a lot of work into this. It came out of me after the fight. The build up to this, the up and down, it was a lot of work. I’m just blown away.”

McGregor on if he was rocked in the fight: “I was not rocked. I ate everything he had. I don’t feel anything when they hit me. He cut me when he was on top, but his shots from guard were nothing. I was doing more to him. I felt I dominated the fight. I knew my power and pressure was too much for him.”

McGregor on if he still wants to fight Aldo: “In my mind, he’s a distant memory. I had a lot more knocks and bruises from my camp than he did. But I still showed up and fought. Chad opened him up in his fight, but I’m fine after this. Right now, I’m going to enjoy the belt. I’m eternally grateful to my team and my family.”

VIDEO: McGregor Interview

http://www.foxsports.com/video/UFC?vid=482886211820

Mendes on what went wrong in the fight: “I got tired. Conor’s tough. He’s got long punches. I felt like I was controlling it. But I pooped out. I’d like to do it with a full camp. I felt like I couldn’t move my feet at the end. He’s a good fighter. I’ve watched. He can take some punches and he has a good chin. It was a good game plan to get on top. It just got out of control at the end.”

Florian on Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald: “Some people were saying this was a case of an athlete vs. a fighter. If you didn’t see end of fourth round, both guys were just staring at each other, they’re both fighters. The technical level that they performed at was like we’ve never seen in this fight. One thing about Lawler, he finished the fight strong against Hendricks. He wanted it more in both that one and this one. He’s a future Hall of Famer through and through. He could quit now and I’d be fine.”

Cormier on Lawler beating MacDonald: “This fight was better than the main event. Robbie did a phenomenal job of defending the takedowns. Rory almost got finish in the third. But Robbie is a beast. In round five, Robbie just went forward and put pressure on him. All Rory had to do was stand up, and Robbie got the finish. Robbie is a warrior. Anyone questioning either of them, you don’t know fighting. They’re both warriors.”

Florian on Lawler taking it to another level at the end of the fight: “They were both redlining in sixth gear, and all of the sudden Robbie decided he had a seventh gear. No one is getting that belt from Robbie Lawler until he retires.”

Cormier on the turning point to Lawler’s victory: “Rory set the tone for the fights. His front kick kept him back, but when he stopped, that’s when Robbie started getting that hard jab in and it made all the difference. His wrestling was awesome. He was stopping all the takedowns this time, and he didn’t last time they fought. He continues to evolve.”

UFC President Dana White on if McGregor winning silences critics: “There’s always going to be so many questions. Jose being so athletic. That’s what makes big fights so great. The questions and the debating. Chad took him down, got him on the back. Conor hit him from the bottom.”

White on if the fight was different if Mendes had a full camp: “There are two ways to look at it: what if he has full camp?  And what if Conor gets to prepare for him the whole time, too?”

White on if they will still make Aldo vs. McGregor: “That fight is massive. We wanted to build an outdoor arena here to do it, but the timing doesn’t work. I’m not talking about Aldo anymore. Everything I say about him gets twisted when it gets down to Brazil. Aldo will fight Conor. We’ll figure it out. We’re waiting for Aldo.”    

White on Lawler vs. McDonald: “I had it 2-2 going into the fifth. Let me say this: Rory MacDonald has incredible chin and incredible heart. He was amazing. He had a broken nose in the first and guts it out through the fight. That was one of the sickest wars I’ve ever seen in my life.”

VIDEO: Cody Garbrandt and cancer survivor Maddux Maple talk about the experience of walking to the Octagon.

http://www.foxsports.com/video/UFC?vid=482846787984