“You don’t have to get ready when you stay ready” is a common saying in combat sports, and Chad Mendes is proof of the substance behind the cliche.
After suffering setbacks in his two attempts to dethrone featherweight king Jose Aldo from his long reign atop the 145-pound division, it appeared as if the Team Alpha Male staple would need to cover some serious real estate in his weight class before putting himself into title contention once again. Yet mixed martial arts is a sport where anything can happen and often does, and just when the Sacramento-based fighter was settling in to work his way back to the top, the opportunity of a lifetime came in a call from the UFC.
When Aldo suffered a rib injury that could potentially force him out of his highly anticipated bout against Conor McGregor at UFC 189 on July 11, the UFC reached out to see if Mendes would be interested in stepping in should the Nova Uniao standout be unable to go. Without wasting a moment, he jumped on the opportunity and was in Las Vegas 24 hours later beginning his preparation.
As things would shake out, Aldo withdrew from his main event bout against the Irish upstart, and suddenly the UFC’s Plan B became the new showcase fight for the promotion’s biggest card of the year.
Now, where Mendes was in championship limbo following his second loss to Aldo, he will have the opportunity to become the interim 145-pound champion with a victory over McGregor. He has dreamed of becoming a UFC titleholder since his professional career began seven years ago, and short notice or not, the 30-year-old Californian has every intention of making his dream come true Saturday night.
“I’m feeling damn good right now,” Mendes told the media in attendance for UFC 189 open workouts. “I’m the type of guy that over-trains pretty damn quick so three to four weeks into a training camp I feel peaked out. With the base that I already had built, jumping into this two-and-half-week training camp was actually perfect.
“I feel so ready. I feel fast and explosive. I don’t feel full of injuries and beat up, but only time will tell. I feel great heading into Saturday night is all I can say.”
Shortly after the UFC announced Mendes was in, heated talk between the perennial featherweight contender and the Dublin-born superstar commenced. The SBG Ireland representative has proved to be equally apt in the art of verbal warfare as he is at settling his opposition inside the cage, but Mendes has shrugged off every barb McGregor has launched in his direction.
He knows every taunt McGregor rolls out will ultimately translate into more attention surrounding the fight, and the more attention, the better when it comes to promoting their fight.
“It’s always exciting to get in there when there is a lot of hype surrounding a fight,” Mendes said. “It’s actually tough to get in there when there is none. Sometimes, it’s tough to stay motivated to stay in the gym when you are going through the same grind every single day. When you have something feeding your fire, it’s great.
“[Trash-talk] is all just part of it. I’ve been a top-level competitor my entire life, and I’ve dealt with it plenty in the past. I get in there, deal with it and beat them up and go on with your life. This is just part of it and what has put all these microphones in front of me today. I’m 100 percent OK with it. This is a huge opportunity for me, and I can’t wait to get in there and perform.”
And while Mendes has earned huge opportunities before and stumbled in those showings, the basic foundation of his drive is to keeping getting up and pushing forward despite the setbacks that may arise along the way. That caliber of determination is one his friend and mentor Urijah Faber has seen in Mendes even before he jumped into MMA, and it’s a quality the Team Alpha Male leader has seen thrive in Mendes as he has worked to become one of the best 145-pound fighters in the world.
“It’s exciting to see what he’s done,” Urijah Faber told Bleacher Report. “I’ve known him since he was in high school, and that’s when I started recruiting him. To see him realize his dream as a professional fighter as the world champ is pretty amazing. It’s always exciting to have him get in and be able to perform at any level, take the bull by the horns and get a big victory.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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