Former Cage Warriors champion Conor McGregor announced his arrival to the UFC with a "Knockout of the Night" bonus winning performance in his April 2013 promotional debut. He followed that with a unanimous decision win in August. Unfortunately, McGregor also blew out the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during that decision win over Max Holloway, an injury that required surgery and a significant amount of rehab time.

During that rehab, McGregor (14-2) stayed in the limelight by throwing verbal darts at many fighters competing in the UFC's featherweight division. He also offered his opinion on competitors outside his weight class, but mainly concentrated on those fighting at the 145-pound limit.

One of the fighters McGregor has taken aim at is No. 1 ranked contender Chad Mendes (16-1). McGregor, who will fight Cole Miller (21-8) in the main event of a UFC Fight Night event in Dublin, Ireland in July, has got the attention of Mendes with his remarks.

Mendes, recently appeared on The MMA Hour and in the midst of talking about his upcoming UFC 176 fight against champion Jose Aldo, took some time to talk about McGregor, who earlier on The MMA Hour said of Mendes, "I think Mendes should be a 135er. He looks blown out at 145. He looks like a little bodybuilder. His body is not built for combat."

Mendes didn't hold back when asked about McGregor, "Bottom line, this guy is the biggest shit talker I have ever seen or heard in my entire life. Basically, what he's doing is trying to get up in the top mix as quickly as he can because he hasn't fought anybody. This guy he needs to fight someone in the top five and I guarantee he will get his ass kicked. I don't see why he feels he needs to run his mouth, talking shit. It's one thing to build the fight up, but to make it personal and talking shit about people, it's not cool. This guy is just a shit talker who is trying to get to the top without doing the work. He needs to take his stupid-ass haircut, his goofy little suits and fight someone in the top five and prove himself before he doesn't any of that."

When asked if he had any interest in fighting McGregor, Mendes, without hesitation, replied, "I would beat the shit out of Conor McGregor. It wouldn't even be a fight. I would knock that dude out in the first round. Guaranteed. The guy is a clown."

Mendes also warned McGregor that he should not be looking past or sleeping on Miller, who Mendes feels stands a good chance of earning a submission victory over the outspoken McGregor.