Quiet man Mendes out to silence McGregor

In a city where standing out from the crowd is the surest-fire way to survive, he’d get lost in a phone box. But contrary to the goading trash talk of his opposite number, that has nothing to do with his height. Chad Mendes is just simply not the stander-outer type. He’s a blender-iner.

On Wednesday afternoon in the MGM Grand, Mendes and his next opponent took part in public workouts in front of a raucous crowd. Even here in Las Vegas, where spectrums are wider than anywhere else, it made for the most stark of contrasts.

Mendes was understated, efficient, in and out in about 15 minutes. Just like that he’d slipped back into the masses. About an hour later in strode Conor McGregor. From start to finish — and, all up, it took over an hour and a half — it was over-the-top, elaborate, an exhibition in standing out from the crowd.