UFC 148 may have most of the attention on its main event and co-main event, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other intriguing fights on the card. In fact, a featherweight bout between former lightweight Cody McKenzie and former title challenger Chad …
UFC 148 may have most of the attention on its main event and co-main event, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other intriguing fights on the card. In fact, a featherweight bout between former lightweight Cody McKenzie and former title challenger Chad Mendes should be one of them.
If you saw the weigh-in, you would have noticed that Mendes and McKenzie had a very intense stare down. After some trash talk and some head-to-head contact, the face off was over, but the lasting image would be the give-no-ground staredown the two shared.
When Mendes and McKenzie enter the cage tonight, there will be several factors that play into the fight.
In terms of striking, both men cannot be considered elite. Mendes has come a long way from the early days when he looked like he didn’t know what he was doing. He has power in his fists, but his ground striking is much better than his striking on the feet.
McKenzie is still pretty green on the feet. He would rather get into a submission war than throw hands, so the striking advantage has to go to Mendes.
In terms of wrestling and grappling, Mendes also has the advantage. He has the better takedowns, the heavier top game and all-around more skillful wrestling. While McKenzie has some slick jiu-jitsu, Mendes has stifled to jiu-jitsu guys such as Rani Yahya in the past.
McKenzie has one advantage in this match, which is submissions. His “McKenzitine” submission, a modified guillotine, has put away many opponents in his career, including UFC opponents Aaron Wilkinson and Marcus LeVesseur.
Mendes works with Team Alpha Male, whose signature submission is the guillotine. He will have this move well scouted, so I doubt it plays a factor tonight.
In the end, I see Mendes using his superior boxing to get a takedown. When he gets the fight to the ground, expect him to utilize ground-and-pound to try and earn a stoppage. This may open up a submission, which will ultimately get him the win.
Prediction: Chad Mendes def. Cody McKenzie via submission (rear naked choke)
UFC 148 is set to take place on Saturday from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and while there are several intriguing bouts on the card, many of them appear to be quite predictable as well. All of the bouts on the main card are pitting a couple…
UFC 148 is set to take place on Saturday from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and while there are several intriguing bouts on the card, many of them appear to be quite predictable as well. All of the bouts on the main card are pitting a couple of big-name fighters against each other, but that doesn’t always result in a high-quality tilt.
Anything can happen in UFC, but many of the fights that are receiving top billing look pretty predictable on paper. That doesn’t mean that the fights won’t be entertaining, but few of them are evenly matched. This appears to be one of UFC’s most stacked cards in a while, but it may not translate to a great event.
Here are the biggest locks to win on Saturday night at UFC 148.
Forrest Griffin has had mixed results in his fights over the past few years, but he is considered a huge favorite in his light heavyweight bout with Tito Ortiz on Saturday.
Ortiz was once a dominant fighter in his own right, but he has lost five of his last six decisions, including a defeat at the hands of Griffin three years ago. That fight was split on the scorecards, but Ortiz hasn’t done anything to suggest that the result will be different this time.
Griffin was knocked out by Mauricio Rua in his last contest, but he picked up an impressive win over Rich Franklin before that, so there is no doubt that he has all the momentum. Griffin is four years younger and Ortiz looks as if he is nearing the end of the line. Another loss to Griffin could spell the end of Ortiz’s career, and I believe that is what we’ll see at UFC 148.
If UFC fights were won with words, then Anderson Silva would be in big trouble against Chael Sonnen. There is no bigger trash talker in the sport than Sonnen, and while he often is able to back it up, that won’t be the case when he faces Silva.
Conventional wisdom says that Silva should be slowing down at the age of 37, but he is the UFC middleweight champion and is as dominant as ever. In fact, Silva has won a remarkable 15 straight bouts and will look to make it 16 on Saturday.
Sonnen has performed well as of late too, with just one loss in his past six fights, but that loss was against Silva. The two stars locked horns at UFC 117 and Sonnen was forced to tap out in the fifth round due to a triangle armbar. Sonnen put up a good fight, but Silva was in control throughout.
Silva may not be able to walk over Sonnen, but he will ultimately have his hand raised at the end of the night.
Chad Mendes
Chad Mendes is a rising UFC star, and although he is coming off a tough loss against Jose Aldo, he is a huge favorite in his featherweight bout against Cody McKenzie.
The 24-year-old McKenzie has a spectacular record of 13-2, but he has lost two of his past three contests. Mendes is just 27, and his record stands at 11-1. Those statistics would seem to suggest that Mendes and McKenzie are relative equals, but Mendes has faced much stiffer competition thus far and is battle tested when compared to the younger McKenzie.
Mendes is considered by many to be a future UFC Featherweight Champion and if he is going to reach that level, then he has to fend off guys like McKenzie. Both of these guys are very hungry to prove that they are ready to make the leap and face top-level talent, but only one fighter can do that, and I expect it to be Mendes.
Dong Hyun Kim (-155) vs. Demien Maia (+135) Ryan Poli: Despite a poor performance in his last fight, I’m picking Demian Maia to win. Stun Gun is at his best on the ground, which I.
Dong Hyun Kim (-155) vs. Demien Maia (+135)
Ryan Poli: Despite a poor performance in his last fight, I’m picking Demian Maia to win. Stun Gun is at his best on the ground, which I feel plays right in to Maia’s hand. Plus as long as Maia can showcase his improved stand up (like he did against Mark Munoz), he will also have the advantage on the feet. I disagree with the odds. It may be because of his last fight, but I still disagree. Winner: Maia
John Rivera: This fight can go one of two ways: Kim, uses a moderate kickboxing advantage and solid judo skills to keep the fight upright for a unanimous decision victory…. OR…Demian Maia submits the motherf*cker with his insane jiu-jitsu skills inside of round one. Even though I want the badass Brazilian to win via flying omaplata to reverse spinning heel hook, I got Kim with the decision this time. Winner: Kim
Alan Wells: I expect DHK to take a decision victory here. This will probably be another mediocre striking match right in line with Maia’s recent fights and Kim has the slight advantage in the striking. At -155, this is the first fight that feels worth a bet. Winner: Kim
MMAFix Staff Pick: Kim (2-1)
Chad Mendes (-640) vs. Cody McKenzie (+470)
Ryan Poli: Chad Mendes is too strong and too skilled for McKenzie. His only chance to win is with his signature guillotine choke which Mendes can easily avoid. Winner: Mendes
John Rivera: I got Chad Mendes via boring decision victory. Mendes is a good enough wrestler to keep McKenzie on his back for most of the fight but the latter is good enough on the ground to avoid any submissions from the Team Alpha Male product. As sick as he is with the guillotine (Dude has 12 submission victories all by guillotine) I don’t see McKenzie tapping out the NCAA All-American Wrestler. Winner: Mendes
Alan Wells: This fight is a joke. The only reason to bet here is to either take a flyer on McKenzie because of the ridiculous odds or to use Mendes as a parlay to get better odds on either Silva or Griffin. Parlaying is normally a sucker bet but I really can’t imagine Mendes losing this fight. Winner: Mendes
MMAFix Staff Pick: Mendes (3-0)
Ivan Menjivar (+105) vs. Mike Easton (-125)
Ryan Poli: I think Menjivar is overrated. He is extremely talented, but his last few fights have been against lower ranked competition that gave him a great deal of trouble and put him in some bad positions where I feel if Mike Easton had the same position, he would be able to put Menjivar away. Mike Easton brings it every fight and will get the TKO over Menjivar. Winner: Easton
John Rivera: We are in for a treat. First of all Menjivar fought GSP when he debuted at 170lbs—the guy is a monster, especially when you consider this fight is at bantamweight. Second, Mike Easton is a Lloyd Irvin black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu who PREFERS to fight standing up. I have no idea what is going to happen. Mike Easton is on a tear, killing guys left and right with very dangerous muay thai, but this is definitely a step up in competition. The UFC is testing Easton with this matchup. They want to see if he can make the leap from rising prospect to legitimate contender. A fourth victory against a high profile fighter such as Menjivar could sign Easton’s ticket to the title show. I think he will rise to the occasion for a very close split decision victory. Winner: Easton
Alan Wells: This is the closest fight of the night. It started as a pick ‘em but the line has now moved slightly in favor of Easton. I consider this a stay away for betting purposes because it’s too close. But if I have to pick a winner, I’m going with Easton. I’d love to pick Menjivar because I’ve been a fan of his game for a long time but I think Easton will be a bit too strong for him. Winner: Easton
MMAFix Staff Pick: Easton (3-0)
Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie In a clear mismatch of UFC featherweights, former title contender Chad Mendes will face MMA’s favorite one trick pony, Cody McKenzie. This fight barely even warrants a breakdown. Mendes is.
Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie
In a clear mismatch of UFC featherweights, former title contender Chad Mendes will face MMA’s favorite one trick pony, Cody McKenzie. This fight barely even warrants a breakdown.
Mendes is one of the best 145 pound fighters in the world. His only loss came in his last fight against Jose Aldo who is one of the top pound for pound fighters in MMA. Mendes relies on his excellent wrestling and control to grind his way to victories. Eight of his eleven victories have come via decision. He keeps things simple and continues to show improved striking with every appearance. McKenzie has made a career out of his much celebrated modified guillotine choke. He used it to win all of his fights on the Ultimate Fighter as well as his last fight against Marcus LeVesseur. But whenever he has fought higher level competition such as Vagner Rocha, Yves Edwards and even Nam Phan, he has not been able to compete and was finished by all three fighters. Chad Mendes trains with one of the best camps in the world at Team Alpha Male and one of their specialties is guillotines. He will not allow McKenzie to attack his neck and this will be a great opportunity for him to earn a finish.
Mendes is favored at –600 with McKenzie at +450 and quite honestly, that line could move even further in favor of Mendes. This is not a close fight and while anything can happen in MMA, no one can reasonably expect McKenzie to win. He has one route to victory and if he locks up that choke, he could pull off the upset. But the much more likely course for this fight would be Mendes dominating McKenzie and eventually earning the victory via TKO due to ground and pound.
Ivan Menjivar vs. Mike Easton
The UFC will kick off its blockbuster UFC 148 card with a bantamweight matchup between two veterans in Ivan Menjivar and Mike Easton. Both fighters started their professional careers around the same time but Menjivar is perceived to be the more experienced fighter with thirty two professional fights to Easton’s thirteen. Both fighters are also riding multi-fight win streaks in the UFC since the introduction of the bantamweight division with Menjivar winning three in a row and Easton winning two. However, both are coming off less than impressive victories.
Menjivar is the more well-rounded fighter with the ability to finish the fight on the feet and on the ground. He is most dangerous in the submission game but often hurts his opponents with strikes before pouncing for the finish. At age thirty, he is still capable of making a run in the 135 pound division but he will need to improve on his recent form is he hopes to do that. In his most recent victory over John Albert, Albert actually appeared to be the better fighter and dominated the first three minutes of the fight before burning himself out attempting to finish. Menjivar was able to take advantage and earn the victory via rear naked choke when his exhausted opponent gave up his back and was unable to defend. If he wants to defeat Easton, he’ll need to improve significantly over that performance.
Easton has spent the majority of his career fighting in smaller organizations taking two separate two year breaks from MMA. Easton is an explosive athlete with huge power in his hands. He has made a career of overpowering his opponents and either finishing with punches or grinding his way to a decision. He will have a power and athleticism advantage against Menjivar but will probably be at a technical disadvantage in almost every area. Like his opponent, Easton also earned a less than impressive victory in his last outing with a split decision win over Jared Papazian. Two judges scored the fight in favor of Easton but the third round was so close that either fighter could have legitimately been scored the winner. If he approaches this fight with a similarly basic gameplan of standing and hoping to land his huge right hand, he could be in trouble because Menjivar is more dangerous than Papazian and has the power to put him in trouble.
The bookmakers currently have this line as a straight up pick ‘em with both fighters at -115. This fight will come down to who really wants to be a factor in the UFC bantamweight division and whose camp comes up with the better gameplan. Menjivar has the technique to outpoint Easton on the feet and threaten him on the ground. But Easton’s power could be too much for Menjivar to handle. If Menjivar moves in and out and defends the takedown, he can win this fight on the feet. But if he allows Easton to gain and maintain top position, look for Easton to grind his way to victory.
In the competitive world of mixed martial arts, contenders rise and fall frequently. Prospects are battle tested in the hopes that one day they will become champions.Chad Mendes carried his unbeaten record into the lion’s den of Rio de Janeiro to face …
In the competitive world of mixed martial arts, contenders rise and fall frequently. Prospects are battle tested in the hopes that one day they will become champions.
Chad Mendes carried his unbeaten record into the lion’s den of Rio de Janeiro to face a fighter heralded as one of the pound-for-pound best in Jose Aldo. The featherweight champion was able to finish the bout in the closing seconds of the opening round and Mendes found himself in the unfamiliar territory of the loss column.
He knows the way to the top of the division, but now Mendes will be fighting to work his way back. That journey begins at UFC 148, when he steps into the Octagon with TUF alum Cody McKenzie, and the Team Alpha Male fighter is eager to return to his winning ways.
“I can honestly say going into the fight with Aldo was the best I’ve ever felt,” Mendes said in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report. “I was the most mentally clear I’ve ever been. Physically, I felt I was so prepared. Going over to Brazil was something I knew I had to do and I factored that into my preparation. Leading up to the fight, I had already traveled there for the press conference, so I knew what the flight was going to be like and how to adjust.
“For whatever reason, the press in Brazil loved me and treated me great. I had a lot of support going into that fight and the fans in Brazil were awesome. I was super ready and honestly, fighting in that environment didn’t bother me. When I was standing in the cage, waiting for Aldo to come out, my mind was clear. I can remember everything.
“Normally, that isn’t the case because nerves take over and you rely on instinct. It just wasn’t my night and I got caught. Hopefully, that was a huge learning experience for me and my mind will be clear like that for every fight. I’m definitely working on the things I messed up on and I’m ready to get in there and destroy people.”
When Mendes steps back into the Octagon in Las Vegas, he will be standing across from Cody McKenzie. The Alaskan is known for his awkward style and his ability to catch his opponents in his signature version of the guillotine submission known as “The McKenzietine.”
Mendes is well aware of the dangers McKenzie presents and is prepared for whatever comes his way.
“It is a very weird matchup with McKenzie, but I’m not taking him lightly at all,” Mendes said. “Cody is a very funky fighter. Growing up as a wrestler, there are types of wrestlers you would look at and think you were going to destroy them, but they have some weird, funky way about them where they either keep it close or find a way to win.
“I learned that lesson in wrestling and I’m not looking past him at all. I’ve trained hard, as I always do. Obviously, I’ve worked a lot on guillotines because I know that is his bread and butter. He catches a lot of guys with it. I’m going into this fight like it is for the world title.
“I pride myself on conditioning. I’m a very high-paced fighter and I like to break down my opponents. I started wrestling when I was five years old. I’ve wrestled my entire life; it’s my base, and I have that wrestling mentality. When I step into the Octagon, fans are going to see a fast pace and I’m going to grind down my opponent. Whether it is elbows, punches or big knees, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get the win.”
A victory at UFC 148 will put Mendes back on track and return his focus to the ultimate goal of becoming a world champion. Whereas the featherweight divisional elite was just a handful of fighters, over the past six months, the landscape has changed, as several future contenders have emerged. Mendes is excited to face the challenges ahead and feels his weight class is long overdue for center-stage attention.
“The division is starting to get more recognition,” Mendes said. “I think we should have been getting the recognition all along, but it was the WEC then and it is what it is. People looked at the WEC like it was a minor league, but now the two organizations merged and it’s the UFC. People look at things differently. Now that it’s all under one umbrella, people are starting to realize how exciting this division is.
“A lot of the 155 pound fighters are starting to drop down to featherweight and that is only making the weight class more competitive. Bigger names are coming into the division and that is helping build it up as well. The fans are going to see some excellent fights.”
UFC 148 may have most of the attention on its main event and co-main event, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other intriguing fights on the card. In fact, a featherweight bout between former lightweight Cody McKenzie and former title challenger Chad Mendes should be one of them.
