Facing a decorated wrestler for the first time in his UFC tenure, the “Notorious” Irishman shrugged off multiple Chad Mendes takedowns to finish his opponent at the 4:57 mark of the second round to claim the interim featherweight strap in the UFC 189 headliner at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Now, a potentially lucrative showdown with reigning 145-pound king Jose Aldo looms large.
McGregor was hardly the only star of the event, however. Robbie Lawler successfully defended his welterweight strap in a bloody rematch with Rory MacDonald in the co-headliner. The American Top Team product rallied from the brink of defeat to finish his foe 60 seconds into the fifth frame. Here is a by-the-numbers look at UFC 189, with statistics courtesy of FightMetric.com.
Related » UFC 189 Play-by-Play
5: Victories via KO or TKO in the Octagon for McGregor, the second most in Ultimate Fighting Championship/World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight history behind Jose Aldo.
6: Consecutive triumphs for McGregor, the second-longest active streak in the division behind Jose Aldo, who has won seven in a row.
0-3: Mendes’ record in championship fights. Prior to losing against McGregor, “Money” fell to Aldo at UFC 179 and UFC 142.
74: Total strikes landed by McGregor. By comparison, Mendes landed 36. The SBG Ireland product outlanded his foe 28 to 16 in round one and 46 to 20 in round two. McGregor also held a 46-to-31 edge in significant strikes.
15: Significant strikes to the body landed by McGregor. Mendes, meanwhile, landed just one.
4: Takedowns landed, in seven attempts by Mendes. McGregor had not been taken down in his previous five UFC appearances.
42: Takedowns landed by Mendes during his UFC/WEC tenure, the most of any featherweight. Among all active fighters Mendes is in ninth place behind Demian Maia (48).
29: Changes the UFC has been forced to make to main or co-main events thus far in 2015. UFC 189 had a significant change at the top when Aldo withdrew from the headliner due to a broken rib and was replaced by Mendes.
9: Number of countries represented at UFC 189. Fighters from the United States, Ireland, Canada, Brazil, Iceland, England, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Cuba were all in action on the 11-bout card.
8: Knockdowns landed by Lawler in the Octagon, tying him with Jake Ellenberger and Anthony Johnson for second among active welterweights. “Ruthless” knocked MacDonald down in the fifth frame before finishing the fight with a couple follow-up blows on the ground. Only Thiago Alves (11) has more at 170 pounds. Lawler also moves into a tie with Edson Barboza for No. 10 among all active fighters.
6: KO/TKO victories for Lawler at welterweight, No. 3 in the division behind only Matt Brown (9) and Thiago Alves (8).
723: Significant strikes landed by Lawler in UFC competition, No. 4 among active welterweights behind Matt Brown (724), Thiago Alves (748) and Rick Story (826). Lawler landed 70 significant strikes against MacDonald to surpass rival Johny Hendricks (702).
16: Significant strikes by which MacDonald (86 to 70) outlanded Lawler. “The Red King” outlanded his foe 11 to 9 in round one, 22 to 20 in round two, 26 to 15 in round three and 25 to 15 in round four. Meanwhile, the champion held an 11-to-2 edge in significant strikes in the decisive final frame.
15: Significant strikes to the body for MacDonald. Lawler, meanwhile, landed five.
14: Significant leg strikes landed by Lawler; MacDonald landed just one.
0: Takedowns landed, in four attempts, by MacDonald against Lawler. In their first meeting at UFC 167, MacDonald landed four of six takedown attempts but lost a split decision.
4:16:53: Total fight time for Jeremy Stephens, who spent 10:32 in the Octagon against Dennis Bermudez to move past Lyoto Machida (4:12:15) and into sixth place among active UFC fighters.
2: Knockdowns landed by Stephens, who floored Bermudez once in both the second and third rounds.
10: Career submission triumphs for Gunnar Nelson, who tapped out Brandon Thatch with a rear-naked choke 2:54 into the opening stanza of their welterweight encounter. Four of his five UFC victories in the UFC have come via submission.
15: Career victories via KO/TKO in 19 professional appearances for Thomas Almeida, who authored a “Knockout of the Year” candidate when he finished Brad Pickett with a flying knee 29 seconds into the second round of their bantamweight tussle.
3,787: Days since Pickett’s last knockout loss. In his second professional bout, “One Punch” suffered a second-round TKO defeat against Chris Freeborn at Cage Rage 10 “Deliverance” on Feb. 26, 2005.
11: Welterweight finishes for Matt Brown following his guillotine of Tim Means 4:44 into the opening round. That ties Matt Hughes for most in the history of the division.
724: Career significant strikes for Brown, No. 3 among active welterweights. Brown landed 25 significant strikes against Means to move past Johny Hendricks (702). Only Thiago Alves (748) and Rick Story (826) have more.
23: Career submission attempts for Brown, tying him with Cole Miller and Nate Diaz for No. 3 among active UFC fighters. Only Joe Lauzon (26) and Jim Miller (34) have attempted more submissions.
945: Days since Mike Swick’s last Octagon appearance, a second-round knockout loss to Matt Brown at UFC on Fox 5. “The Ultimate Fighter 1” veteran dropped a unanimous verdict to Tristar Gym prospect Alex Garcia in his UFC return.
10-1: Record in bouts that go the distance for Cathal Pendred, who lost his first career decision against John Howard on Saturday night. The Cage Warriors Fighting Championship veteran had won his previous three Octagon appearances via decision.
28: Days since Pendred defeated Augusto Montano by unanimous decision at UFC 188 in Mexico City. Pendred returned to face Howard on short notice at UFC 189, dropping a split-decision to the welterweight known as “Doomsday.”
8: Combined submission attempts between Louis Smolka (five) and Neil Seery (three) in their flyweight belt. Smolka also landed six takedowns -- to Seery’s none -- and won via unanimous decision.