I'd still go with Cruz, his prime was cut short by injuries. He came back and beat Dillashaw in a close fight, while no longer being the prime Cruz. I see them as like 1a and 1b. I'd have loved to see Dillashaw against McGregor, at 145.
At this point likely not. I don't think McGregor would have beaten Dillashaw, had that been him in there instead of two week Mendes.
Would McGregor be able to catch him before he tires? with a perfect shot? T.J. isn't flat footed, he's not diving into punches face first like Aldo, and he's not a wrestler who is trying to box, he can actually box a bit and strike well himself, outside of his wrestling. I'm not talking T.J. moving to lightweight, I'm talking if T.J. had of fought him at 145. I don't think T.J. loses that fight.
Don't see TJ standing up to the power. McGregor finds him eventually, TJ is far from impossible to hit. Size, power and durability would all be on McGregors side. Dillashaw would have to fight the perfect fight on only a few weeks notice. Not happening.
Based on what exactly? That Conor had some issues with Mendes(an elite fighter might I add) who took the fight on short notice? Conor was at just as much as disadvantage in the early going if not more so... He was preparing for a completely different opponent and a gym rat like Mendes who's always training and in shape is capable of performing at a very high level for at least a round or two even on short notice.
He had a fight 3 months prior and hes a gym rat who's in shape year round. If he wasn't in shape it would have shown in the later rounds. McGregor was preparing for a completely different fighter. Bisping pulled off a much bigger upset against Rockhold on short notice, Diaz upset McGregor on short notice. a lot of these vets are more dangerous that way because they throw caution to the wind and go for it. Full camps theyd have done worse.
smh. We are talking about Mendes here, and nobody else. It's hilarious hearing people claim that a two week camp Mendes, was the best possibly Mendes. That fight plays out much differently if Mendes has a full camp.
Shake your head all you want but you're just making assertions without backing anything up. Best Mendes? Nobody said any of the above here, you need to work on that reading comprehension. It was still a very good Mendes who had a lot less to lose than McGregor and a completely different task than what McGregir was preparing for. You say he does better with a full camp but refuse to acknowledge the possibility that McGregor would to do better had he actually prepared for him lol. Why are you so simple?
Your position reeks of fanboyism. Nobody in their right mind would ever argue that a 2 week notice fighter was in top form for a title fight. The fact that you are going out of your way to suggest that Mendes was in top form is quite laughable.
