Chad Mendes Being Charged with Battery for Involvement in July Bar Fight


Props: Twitter.com/chadmendes

By George Shunick

When Chad Mendes was first accused of sucker punching a patron at a California bar during a brawl and fleeing from the cops, he dismissed the accuracy of the charges against him and stated he would cooperate fully with the investigation. In retrospect, that turned out to be a bad idea. Mendes was charged with battery yesterday, facing up to a $2,000 fine and 6 months in jail.

For those of you who missed this the first time, or have the memory span of a goldfish, here’s the official recap of what happened:

“Kings County Sheriff’s deputies say Mendes, a 27-year-old local native, sucker punched a man in the face at the Lacey Inn Bar on July 29. Leaving out the back door, he ran from law enforcement and managed to escape capture. But witnesses at the scene recognized the famous athlete. [Author’s note: people recognized “famous athlete” Chad Mendes!? MMA is finally mainstream!]

Deputies initially stopped at the bar around 1:18 a.m. in response to a call about two people fighting in the parking lot. After they pulled the men apart, about 40 more people decided to join in, turning it into a large brawl.


Props: Twitter.com/chadmendes

By George Shunick

When Chad Mendes was first accused of sucker punching a patron at a California bar during a brawl and fleeing from the cops, he dismissed the accuracy of the charges against him and stated he would cooperate fully with the investigation. In retrospect, that turned out to be a bad idea. Mendes was charged with battery yesterday, facing up to a $2,000 fine and 6 months in jail.

For those of you who missed this the first time, or have the memory span of a goldfish, here’s the official recap of what happened:

“Kings County Sheriff’s deputies say Mendes, a 27-year-old local native, sucker punched a man in the face at the Lacey Inn Bar on July 29. Leaving out the back door, he ran from law enforcement and managed to escape capture. But witnesses at the scene recognized the famous athlete. [Author’s note: people recognized “famous athlete” Chad Mendes!? MMA is finally mainstream!]

Deputies initially stopped at the bar around 1:18 a.m. in response to a call about two people fighting in the parking lot. After they pulled the men apart, about 40 more people decided to join in, turning it into a large brawl. 

Hanford police and the county Gang Task Force were called in to help break it up. When the dust settled, officers heard Mendes cursing and yelling at them. He showed signs of being intoxicated, Putnam said, and law enforcement asked him to leave. 

Instead, he turned and went back into the bar. That’s when he allegedly punched another patron.”

Obviously, the allegations are a blow to Mendes’ career. Not as big a blow as, say, a well-timed knee to the face. But a blow nonetheless. Even though these are solely allegations right now, it could adversely impact some of his sponsorship deals. His role as the rugged, masculine face of Edge Shave Gel could very well be in jeopardy. (Then again, maybe Mendes might want to consider keeping his face out of advertisement campaigns in the future. Fame doesn’t become him, it seems.)

However, it’s unlikely Mendes will spend any time in a jail cell as a result of this. The charges don’t seem to be too serious, and besides, Mendes has the resources to hire a legal team that’s more than capable of dealing with this. It’s likely the two sides will reach some type of settlement and the whole thing will blow over in a few months. That may sound a little optimistic to some of you, but if Mendes was able to avoid getting criminal charges filed for his brutalization of Cody McKenzie, he should be more than capable of beating these as well.