Often times in MMA you will read a quote from a fighter and have no idea where it originated. On Tuesday’s edition of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast with special guest Chael Sonnen, that’s exactly what happened when “The American Gangster” claimed that Chad Mendes outright admitted he was “scared to death” of Conor McGregor.
Sonnen appeared on the WWE Hall Of Famers podcast this week and spoke about the Mendes-McGregor bout from UFC 189, claiming where he was sitting as a representative of ESPN, he knew 40 seconds into the fight that “The Notorious” one had it in the bag.
According to Sonnen, he saw a “tell” from Mendes early in the fight, as Sonnen claimed he could see Mendes go through an “adrenaline dump” when McGregor popped up from his first successful takedown with ease.
Sonnen claimed it was at this point that he kicked his feet up on the desk and told those who were seated next to him, “this fight is over.”
The former UFC title contender turned ESPN analyst elaborated, explaining that an adrenaline dump is a real thing in a fight, and something fighters rarely acknowledge or admit publicly.
Chael P. went on to talk about comments Mendes made after the fight, and according to Sonnen, “Money” Mendes outright admitted that an adrenaline dump is exactly what cost him the fight.
“And when the fight was over, Chad privately did say, ‘Yeah, that’s exactly what happened,'” said Sonnen of comments Mendes reportedly made after his second-round TKO loss to McGregor in July. “He said, ‘You know, I needed out of there. I was scared to death, I was completely exhausted. I’ve never been exhausted in a fight before and I needed out. There was two rounds to go [and] I knew I couldn’t do it.'”
You can listen to Chael Sonnen’s full appearance on the “Steve Austin Show: Unleashed” podcast at PodcastOne.com.
