'Original O.G.' Chad Mendes will have Conor McGregor 'on his back crying for Mama'

Yesterday, it was announced that Jose Aldo was forced to withdraw from UFC 189 due to a rib injury and that Chad Mendes would be stepping in to face Conor McGregor for the interim featherweight title instead.

An excited Mendes revealed the moment he discovered the news to FOX Sports yesterday:

"I just found out maybe two or three hours ago. I was actually training and my girlfriend was at the gym and I was hitting mitts and she interrupted the workout and goes 'it's official!' and we all stopped and looked and she was holding up her phone and it was posted on Instagram. That's basically how I found out," Mendes told FOX Sports on Tuesday night after the news was official."

"Since I found out I was the backup, I knew I was fighting Conor. Nothing has changed in my mind except it's gone public. I'm excited. This is a huge opportunity and something I've worked my entire life for. I'm not passing this up."

Despite only having two weeks to prepare for one of the biggest fights in his life, Mendes feels sharp enough to 'whoop some ass' on July 11:

"I've got two weeks to get as sharp as I can," Mendes said. "I live a healthy lifestyle so I'm in pretty decent shape year round, so I've been hitting it hard as soon as I found out. So I'm just kind of fine tuning it now, but I'll stay injury free and get that weight down. You guys should see the original O.G. Chad Mendes get in there on July 11 and whoop some ass."

'Money' Mendes feels he's a stylistic nightmare for Conor McGregor and believes his wrestling, explosiveness and speed will be too much for the Irishman to handle:

"I guarantee it," Mendes answered when asked if he was a tougher matchup for McGregor. "We all know Aldo's a super athlete, very dangerous stand-up, but those are the type of guys that Conor does the best with. We have not seen him with many fighters that have the wrestling, that have the explosiveness to get inside and close the distance on him. The fights that I've seen him lose, those guys were able to get him down on the ground.

"That right there I feel is a huge hole. I think my style with my wrestling, my athleticism, my speed, and the ability to knock somebody out, the power in my hands, I feel like that's a sh--tier fight for him."

Oozing with confidence, the #2 ranked featherweight in the world forecasts three different methods of victory at UFC 189:

"I see myself beating this guy three ways," Mendes explained. "I'm either going to knock him unconscious because he drops his hands a ton and gets lazy in there. I'm going to take him down and submit him because he gives up. Or I'm going to have him on his back crying for his mama for five, five-minute rounds, beating the crap out of him. I'm good with all three of them."

Check out the full interview at FOX Sports.