McGregor's coach not surprised by Mendes' ability to land takedowns at UFC 189

Despite having the utmost confidence in his pupil, Conor McGregor's coach, John Kavanagh, wasn't sure how his charge would handle the power wrestling of Chad Mendes when the two squared off at UFC 189 in July.

"Walking out for the Mendes fight, with it being so short (notice), I was curious to see how it would go," Kavanagh told MMAjunkie.com's Steven Marrocco.

McGregor had never faced a wrestler of Mendes' caliber, and, without much time to prepare for the Team Alpha Male product, Kavanagh was expecting McGregor to have to fight off his back for a few stretches of the bout.

"I wasn't surprised at the few takedowns that were hit," Kavanagh said. "If you're going to be facing someone at that level, and you're shocked that you're taken down, well that's actually what induces the panic. That's what makes you tired. But if that's just part of the game, and you're not worried, and once you understand that the general flow of the fight is going the right way. … But yeah, that fight was interesting."

Mendes landed some heavy ground-and-pound on McGregor during their interim featherweight title bout, but the brash Irishman was able to craft a scintillating come-from-behind knockout victory, with a mere three seconds remaining in the second round.