The days leading up to a UFC event are usually relatively slow on the news front. The majority of the media covering the sport go into pre-fight coverage mode during these times, obtaining fighter interviews, breaking down the odds, breaking down the fights and generally prepping fans of the sport for the upcoming event in any way possible. That quiet was broken on Friday when a report came through that UFC fighter Chad Mendes was being sought for questioning for his alleged role in a bar brawl.
The news report, via the Hanford Sentinel, stated that on Saturday, July 28, Mendes was involved in a 40 person bar fight and that he had allegedly sucker punched another patron at the bar and then ran off before authorities could speak to him on the matter.
Mendes’ management representatives at MMA Incorporated answered these allegations in a statement that was sent to Bleacher Report:
On Friday afternoon, Chad Mendes was shocked and surprised by the allegations contained in an article published on an Internet news site. While Chad acknowledges that an incident occurred last Saturday in Hanford, he contends that the majority of the facts pertaining to him in the story are absolutely false.
Attempts were immediately made by Chad’s representatives to contact personnel at the Sheriff’s Department on Friday afternoon. Despite these repeated attempts, Chad’s representatives have not received any response from the Sheriff’s Department as of the time of this release.
Chad denies any wrongdoing and is very upset by the allegations contained in the story. He will fully cooperate with the Sheriff’s Department and looks forward to clearing his name.
The 27-year-old Mendes is one of the top-ranked fighters in the UFC’s featherweight division, posting a career record of 12-1. His only loss came in January of this year when he was stopped with one second left in the first round by UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Mendes followed that loss with a 31-second knockout victory over Cody McKenzie at UFC 148.
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