UFC 189 weigh-in: First act of ‘The McGregor Show’ draws packed house

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, July 10, 2015 | 6:15 p.m.

The International Fight Week moniker must ring especially true to Chad Mendes, because it feels as if the whole world is rooting against him.

A record 11,500 fans attended the UFC 189 weigh-in Friday afternoon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and it sounded like every last one of them booed Mendes before he climbed the scale. Conor McGregor’s assertion that Saturday night’s pay-per-view, which begins at 7 p.m., is “The McGregor Show” never felt truer than the moments when he and Mendes weighed in at 145 pounds to make the interim featherweight title fight official.

“Chad is an overblown midget,” McGregor said in his final comments before the fight. “Tomorrow night, I’m going to cut him in half. I’m ready to go for Ireland, for my country.”

The Irish invaded the MGM with green, white and orange flags covering the premises. They danced, chanted and sang through the entire casino for more than an hour after the weigh-in.

The event’s host, UFC commentator Joe Rogan, joked that he thought he was in McGregor’s hometown of Dublin. Mendes was the only one who broke the jolliness of the masses, but the top-ranked contender who replaced Jose Aldo in the UFC 189 main event seemed to take the villainous role in stride.

“This is (expletive) awesome, man,” Mendes said. “It’s time to take what’s mine, baby.”

Mendes rushed toward McGregor after making weight, but UFC President Dana White held both fighters back before they could get physical. McGregor couldn’t afford another altercation after shoving Mendes’ mentor Urijah Faber backstage.

In a clip released on Fox Sports 1, the two appeared to be having a friendly exchange when McGregor charged forward at Faber before his girlfriend and a staff member stepped in between the confrontation.

No one got along at the weigh-in. White broke up several scuffles onstage, including one between the two welterweights fighting for the title in the co-main event.

Champion Robbie Lawler (169.5) and challenger Rory MacDonald (170) refused to split when White directed them to step apart. After a stalemate that lasted a few seconds, Lawler slapped MacDonald’s fist from out of his pose below his chin.

“I’m the man,” Lawler yelled. “I’m going to go out there and show it. I’m going to knock his ass out. Thanks for coming.”

The third-highest billed bout featured the only fighter to miss weight. Veteran Jeremy Stephens came in more than three pounds overweight at 149.5 for his featherweight bout against Dennis Bermudez.

Stephens opted against making a second attempt, and instead forfeited 20 percent of his fight purse to Bermudez. The crowd was unusually quiet when Stephens missed while coming down from a lively welcome to McGregor’s teammate, Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson (169.5), who fights Brandon Thatch (170.5).

Irish undercard fighters Cathal Pendred (171) and Neil Seery (125.5) received the next loudest reactions. But nothing compared to the rumble McGregor triggered, or the rage Mendes caused.

Check below for full results from the UFC 189 weigh-in.

Interim featherweight championship bout: Chad Mendes (144.5) vs. Conor McGregor (145)

Welterweight championship bout: Robbie Lawler (169.5) vs. Rory MacDonald (170)

Featherweight bout: Dennis Bermudez (146) vs. Jeremy Stephens (149.5)

Welterweight bout: Gunnar Nelson (169.5) vs. Brandon Thatch (170.5)

Bantamweight bout: Brad Pickett (136) vs. Thomas Almeida (136)

Welterweight bout: Matt Brown (171) vs. Tim Means (171)

Welterweight bout: Mike Swick (170.5) vs. Alex Garcia (171)

Welterweight bout: Cathal Pendred (171) vs. John Howard (170.5)

Bantamweight bout: Cody Garbrandt (136) vs. Henry Briones (136)

Flyweight bout: Neil Seery (125.5) vs. Louis Smolka (125)

Lightweight bout: Yosdenis Cedeno (155) vs. Cody Pfister (156)

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.