Conor McGregor Confident He'd Beat Chad Mendes! 'I'll Knock Him Out in 2nd Round!'

With UFC 189 just days away, Conor McGregor seems pretty confident that he will come out on top when he faces Chad Mendes this coming Saturday in Las Vegas.

In fact, McGregor was reportedly willing to place a hefty wager - $3 million that he could knock out Mendes by the second round. McGregor reportedly offered the bet to UFC president Dana White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertita. Being promoters, both White and Fertita of course did not accept.

"I can't even believe I'm going to say this, but he told Lorenzo and I the other day, 'I'll bet you $3 million I knock him out in the second round,'" White said. "When I tell you how extremely confident this guy is in himself, it's fascinating. He's a very unique, fascinating individual. He's fun to listen to and definitely fun to watch."

McGregor was originally scheduled to face Jose Aldo at UFC 189 but a rib injury forced the reigning UFC featherweight to withdraw from the match. In his place is Chad Mendes, a last-minute replacement who jumped at the opportunity despite being notified on short notice.

To his credit, Mendes is a two-time featherweight title challenger and his only losses were at the hands of the man he replaced, Jose Aldo (2012 and 2014).

Other than that, Mendes is expected to turn to this wrestling expertise to good use as he tries to fend off a strike-crazy fighter in McGregor.

McGregor is an overwhelming favorite, since he is expectedly more prepared than Mendes. Aside from that, the Irish mixed martial artist is on a 13-fight winning streak where his last three opponents (Diego Brandao, Dustin Poirier and Dennis Silver) got beat via TKO.

The 26-year-old McGregor currently boasts of a 17-2 record and is ranked no. 6 featherweight in the world. Mendes on the other hand is 8-2 and is ranked the no. 2 featherweight.

Heading into Saturday, McGregor is expected to resort to his usual game plan, lots of kicks and putting his reach to good use. Such will prove the defensive stance of Mendes who is expected to look at takedowns to ground the expected offensive attacks of McGregor.

While McGregor is expected to look for a knockout, he may want to keep an eye on Mendes’ punches. He is known as a heavy hitter and one solid punch could direly make a difference.

In the end, it could boil down to which fighter is properly conditioned. If that would play a major stake, the obvious answer is that McGregor hold the edge. With a fierce exchange expected to take its toll on both fighters, such could be the defining point in the match.

As you would guess, those odds favour McGregor unless one solid punch finds its mark and waylay the Irish fighter.