UFC 189: McGregor Rallies as Lawler and MacDonald Go to War
Conor McGregor won the interim UFC featherweight championship against Chad Mendes at UFC 189 on July 11, 2015. Their main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas ended by second-round TKO, closing a card that also featured a punishing welterweight title fight.
McGregor escapes and finishes
Mendes had put McGregor on his back and worked with punches and elbows. McGregor recovered his feet, dropped Mendes near the fence and followed with strikes until referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 4:57 of the second round. The rally delivered a championship finish just before the horn.
Robbie Lawler retained the welterweight belt against Rory MacDonald in the co-main event. Their contest continued into the fifth round before Lawler won by stoppage. That late conclusion gave the card two championship fights decided by strikes, with the challengers forcing very different kinds of tests.
Lawler survives the five-round battle
Jeremy Stephens stopped Dennis Bermudez thirty-three seconds into the third round of their featherweight bout. Gunnar Nelson submitted Brandon Thatch in the opening round, while Thomas Almeida finished Brad Pickett early in the second. Each main-card contest ended before a final decision was required.
Matt Brown also earned a first-round submission over Tim Means on the preliminary card. UFC 189 delivered finishes through several divisions, but its championship contests supplied the central drama. McGregor had to reverse Mendes’s momentum to claim the interim belt, while Lawler survived a prolonged challenge to remain welterweight champion.
Sources
- View the official UFC 189 event archive on UFC.com.
- ufc.com: mcgregor silences critics finishes mendes 2nd
Article Tags
UFC 189, UFC history, MMA
