Trash-talking Irish fighter Conor McGregor endured a grueling fight against American Chad Mendes in their bout, but somehow found his way to land that devastating punch on the jaws of his opponent to take home Interim Featherweight Championship in the main event of UFC 189 .

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McGregor once again lived up to the hype, defeating Mendes via punches at the 4:47 mark of the second round. Mendes, who was a late replacement following the decision of champion Jose Aldo to withdraw from the fight due to a broken ribs, showed that his skills were top-notch as he gave the Irish all kinds of troubles in the first-round.

One of the problems McGregor had to overcome was Mendes' physical built and grappling ability. He also had a hard time defending Mendes' take down attempts and suffered a gash just outside his right eye. Mendes was having success with his dirty boxing, launching hard elbows and punches to the head of McGregor.

Mendes continued to execute his gameplan by battering the Irish fighter on his guard. The American even had a chance to finish off the match after locking McGregor on a rear naked choke, but the Irish spun out and escaped from the hold.

Realizing the fight was getting difficult for him on the ground, McGregor decided to take Mendes into a brawl fight. He fired a combination punches that stunned Mendes and followed it up by a hard right and a blazing left straight that finally dropped the American near the cage. As he was about to land another barrage of punches, referee Herb Dean intervened and called the bell at 4:57 of the round.

At the end of the day it's all #RESPECT! Got to love this sport! #UFC189 http://t.co/Rac7Ad3rSx

— UFC (@ufc) July 12, 2015

The crowd, most were Irish fans coming across the Atlantic to see McGregor gun for his first UFC belt, erupted moments after the stoppage. While Mendes was checked by the medical staff after the match, McGregor on the other hand went to the opposite side of the cage to grab the Irish flag and kneel down. He kissed the flag and looked to be in tears.

"I can't say the words to express how grateful I am for the support of these fans," McGregor told reporters via Yahoo Sports.

It appeared that Mendes had won the 1st round in all three judges card by utilizing his wrestling ability. In the early 2nd round Mendescontinued to dictate the pace of the fight but the crafty McGregor showed his courage to turn the fight around and finished his opponent on the best way possible.

TagsUFC 189, Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, Featherweight Championship