Chad Mendes (ALSO SEE: Joe Silva’s Shoes: What’s next for UFC 189’s winners? ) Defeats are rarely easy for fighters to accept. For UFC 189’s losing competitors, however, they can take solace in the fact they helped contribute to what many have called the best pay-per-view card in history on Saturday at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. Conor McGregor (18-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) proved the hype real in the main event when he denied Chad Mendes (17-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) of the interim UFC featherweight championship and took the gold for himself with a second-round TKO . Rory MacDonald (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) also had his championship aspirations squashed when Robbie Lawler (26-10 MMA, 11-4 UFC) stopped him with strikes in the fifth round of the welterweight title co-headliner. Dennis Bermudez (14-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC), Brandon Thatch (11-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Brad Pickett (24-11 MMA, 4-6 UFC) also failed to have their hands raised, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying.
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Joe Silva’s Shoes: What’s next for UFC 189′s losing fighters? – MMA Junkie