After the biggest win of his career, a second-round TKO victory over Chad Mendes at UFC 189, the UFC’s new interim-featherweight champion Conor McGregor gave two brief post-fight backstage interviews with FOX Sports 1 and UFC.com, where he talked about arguably the toughest win of his career, his feelings after winning the belt, and a fight versus Frankie Edgar, who suddenly also wants a piece of him now.
McGregor stated that he was “dominating the fight,” even after Mendes managed to take him down several times and hit him with hard elbows from the guard that cut him open.
“I was not rocked, I don’t know where you thought I was rocked,” McGregor asked Ariel Helwani. “Maybe in the scramble back to the feet he threw a couple of shots, but honestly: Everything he had… I don’t feel anything when they hit me. Nothing. He caught me above the eye with an elbow from guard, but his shots from guard were… I was remaining calm, I knew what was happening. I was eating him alive from bottom.”
In the video, McGregor also talks about why he was so emotional after he won the belt and gave his thoughts on an upcoming fight with Jose Aldo.
In UFC.com’s post-fight interview, McGregor explains why he treated Mendes in such a respectful manner after the fight and what he thinks about Frankie Edgar’s wish of fighting him even before Aldo comes back. For those who didn’t know: Edgar went up to the cage after the fight and asked McGregor for a fight. A challenge, that the brash Irishman seems to welcome.
“Most certainly I’m up for a fight against Frankie. Jose went running. I had bigger injuries than a bruised rib in this camp alone, and I still showed up,” McGregor said. “Frankie campaigns that we do Frankie, then we do it. But I’m just gonna enjoy this belt for now, toast my whiskey, toast good business and celebrate with my people.”
Here’s the full interview: