"After that fight, he hasn't been quite the same" - Javier Mendez names the matchup that led to the downhill slide in Conor McGregor's UFC career
Javier Mendez recently weighed in on Conor McGregor in an interview with Helen Yee. The AKA coach also revealed when the Irishman's UFC career started going south.
According to Javier Mendez, Conor McGregor hasn't been the same since an unsuccessful title bid against Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event at UFC 229. Mendez, who was also Khabib's head coach, even acknowledged that McGregor had surpassed his expectations with his performance against 'The Eagle.' Javier Mendez told Helen Yee:
"Well for me it was right after the Khabib (Nurmagomedov) fight. Right after Khabib fight, that's when I started seeing a different change. When he fought Khabib, he fought really well, extremely well. He fought better than I thought he was going to fight with Khabib. So he fought really well. So after that fight he hasn't been quite the same in my opinion."
Conor McGregor’s grudge match with Khabib Nurmagomedov remains the most lucrative fight in MMA history as the pair clocked up 2.4 million buys at UFC 229. Despite a valiant performance, McGregor lost the fight via fourth-round submission.
Javier Mendez has seen different versions of Conor McGregor
Since his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, Conor McGregor has gone 1-2. His lone victory came against Donald Cerrone, who was well past his prime. According to Javier Mendez, the Irishman has displayed three different versions in three outings since fighting Khabib. However, none of them could match his performance against Khabib, which had truly impressed Mendez.
Detailing Conor McGregor's most recent loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, Javier Mendez said:
"The fighters, they control their own destiny. So it's whatever he wants to do but he's definitely fought different, you know. Like three different versions. This is not the best version that I've seen of him. I mean he was doing well but he made some crucial errors, just going down on the guillotine, thinking he could have that. I thought, trying too hard right off the bat. I mean, he's sniper, you know. Just take your time. That's what I think of him, he's a sniper. He's a guy that takes his time and he'll pick you apart. He's very good at that and he didn't do that."