Javier Mendez could sense Conor McGregor looked off at UFC 329.
McGregor (22-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) tore his ACL and meniscus from the first kick he threw in his comeback fight against Max Holloway (28-9 MMA, 24-9 UFC) earlier this month. McGregor hadn't competed since breaking his leg in July 2021.
Mendez, who coached opposite side McGregor when Khabib Nurmagomedov beat him in a heated rivalry, didn't see the same confidence out of "The Notorious." He speculates that McGregor may have injured himself right before the fight – even though the 38-year-old has denied that on multiple occasions.
"The Conor that we saw was different," Mendez said in an interview with NewBettingSites. "The first thing that got me is his mohawk, and I'm like, what? That struck
me as a little odd. But then he didn't have that relaxed swagger. So I didn't know, I didn't know what to think and then when he did that flying kick I went, what the hell? Then I saw his leg buckle as he landed on it. Throwing that kick, and then I'm like, what the hell's going on here? He was in the back room throwing the same kick, and he had no problem, zero problem with it, so he was doing great. But then he goes to the walkout, and then he's taking his shoes off, and you notice there was something wrong there. They pointed it out to me, and I go, 'Man, I didn't even pick that up.' Who knows? Did he hurt himself on that kick or did he hurt himself at the warm-up, I don't know.
"Only his team knows the answer. All I know is that it wasn't him that I saw. I saw somebody that wasn't comfortable when they showed it right before they're about to go. He looked very tense. He didn't look relaxed at all to me. Very tense. And I was confused, to be honest with you. I had no idea. I would strongly advise my guys to never do something like that. That's a hail Mary type thing. If he would have landed, it would have been the greatest thing, like Anthony Pettis jumping on the cage and round-kicking. Look how famous it made him. It put him on the Wheaties cereal box! So something like that, if you can pull it off, is fantastic, but the likelihood of you pulling it off is not that big. If you practice it a lot, like it appears like he was, it can happen and it can throw somebody off, but generally, it's a waste of energy."
McGregor expects to be back by summer 2027 after undergoing surgery, and hinted at a last dance as he looks to complete the final fight on his UFC contract.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Javier Mendez: Conor McGregor 'didn't have that relaxed swagger' at UFC 329
