Chad “Money” Mendes had his chin foreclosed on by featherweight champion Jose Aldo in the main event of UFC 142 on Saturday night.
Coming into the bout, Mendes was seen as the biggest threat to Aldo’s reign, but it only took one round for the Brazilian to connect on a huge knee to crush the Team Alpha Male member’s title aspirations.
“[Aldo’s] a tough dude. This is the best I’ve ever felt for a fight. I was very prepared, and he got me,” Mendes told UFC commentator Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview. “He’s very athletic and very fast. He was the better man.”
The bout shouldn’t bear any negative representation of what Mendes brings to the table as a fighter. He is easily one of the top three featherweights in the world.
Aldo is just that good.
It’s going to be tough for Mendes to rebound from such a decisive defeat. Things will be even tougher on UFC matchmaker Joe Silva in booking future bouts for the tenacious contender.
Mendes could be put in a similar position to Jon Fitch in the welterweight division. For years, Fitch played second fiddle to UFC champ Georges St-Pierre, who seemed to be the only man in the division he couldn’t beat.
Is Mendes destined to suffer a similar fate?
Here are five fights to get the young lion back on track.