This Saturday undefeated featherweight Chad Mendes (9-0) will get to step into the octagon for the first time when he meets Japanese fighter Michihiro Omigawa in Las Vegas as part of UFC 126.
Mendes moves over to the UFC as part of the promotions amalgamation of WEC fighters last month. Under the WEC, Mendes has earned 4 straight wins, three by decision and one by submission.
The Sacramento-based Alpha Male Gym fighter, home to other notable names such as Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez, Danny Castillo to name a few, is excited about making his UFC debut this weekend and feels that a fight versus Omigawa is a great matchup.
“I’m super excited about this,” said Mendes. “I remember watching the UFC when I was a little kid with my Dad, renting some of the DVD’s and stuff of some of the beginning UFC fights and just loving it back then. It’s just incredible to think that right now in my life I’m going to be fighting in that organization, something that I used to respect and love at a younger age and now I’m finally doing it. I’ve never dreamed that I would be doing it this fast. It was a goldmine once I started fighting, but all this has come so fast it’s awesome, and I feel blessed and I’m just super pumped to get in there and fight in front of the world.”
“I honestly think this is a great fight for me. Stylistically we match up great. He’s a judo black belt and his fighting style is that he’s one of those types of guys that likes to get his hands on you. He likes to rush guys in the corner and body lock them and take them down, so that’s a perfect matchup for me with my wrestling background. I did a lot of Greco-Roman wrestling growing up and a lot of that is pretty similar to his judo stuff. I don’t think his standup is that great, he’s pretty flat-footed, so I just have to be light on my feet, pick and choose my shots, and when he rushes in I think I’ll be able to blast him whenever I want.”
HT: UFC.com