Tag: Chad Mendes

Unbeaten Chad Mendes Ready to Hunt for Gold Against Jose Aldo

Filed under: UFCJust a few days before traveling to Houston last weekend, Chad Mendes was in Wyoming’s wide open spaces, hunting mule deer. But now, his sights will shift to some other, much more dangerous big game.

Mendes was in attendance at Houston…

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Chad MendesJust a few days before traveling to Houston last weekend, Chad Mendes was in Wyoming’s wide open spaces, hunting mule deer. But now, his sights will shift to some other, much more dangerous big game.

Mendes was in attendance at Houston’s Toyota Center to watch Jose Aldo‘s win over Kenny Florian at last Saturday’s UFC 136, and he believes he’ll receive the next opportunity to fight for the featherweight championship. At least in the immediate aftermath, UFC president Dana White seemed to agree, saying he was “pretty sure” it would happen. So it’s likely just a matter of when.

Mendes hopes it’s soon. Above all else, the native Californian likes to challenge himself, and to stay busy. That’s why the unbeaten (11-0) 26-year-old risked No. 1 contender status a few months back to fight at August’s UFC 133.

“My time is going to come,” he said. “I’ve only been doing this for three years. I’ve got 11 fights into my career. I’ve got plenty of time. That belt’s going to be mine sooner or later. It’s just hurry up and wait.”

Coming from his wrestling background, Mendes says that he would fight every month if he could, feeling that constant competition would keep him sharp. But now he’s willing to wait a bit for the chance to take home his division’s most coveted trophy.

In the meantime, he will find other ways to occupy himself. Mendes is an avid outdoorsman, who likes to fish and hunt. And recently, he ran his first-ever half-marathon. Asked how he did, Mendes said “not too bad, but not anything great,” saying that his “little, short legs” didn’t work well over long distances.

Turns out, he did very well, as research shows he clocked 1:40.52 in the Los Gatos (CA) Jungle Run Half-Marathon, finishing 11th in his age group. Even more impressive, he did the race in the midst of his preparation for the Rani Yahya UFC 133 fight, with about one month to go.

Mendes said he got inspired to add more running and cycling into his training after learning more about Mike Tyson’s pre-fight preparations, and said he believed it helped him in the bout against Yahya, leaning out his body and improving his stamina.

In his mind, the latter could pay big dividends against Aldo, who looked good in the late rounds against Florian, but struggled badly in the last round of his UFC 129 fight against Mark Hominick.

“He started grappling a lot more and got tired,” he said. “It’s a different type of conditioning. I know I’m going to be in great shape in that sense, the grappling sense. And I know he’s going to be in great shape in the standup part, because he’s going to go out there looking to finish me with some kind of knee or big shot from his hands. But taking him into my world, taking him on the ground and making him work to get up, it’s going to tire his ass out, and I’m looking forward to taking that belt from him.”

Mendes is able to break down his impeding matchup objectively, noting that his standup is “nowhere near” Aldo’s. But if you acknowledge that, he says, you must also acknowledge that Aldo’s wrestling, while “pretty good” for someone who didn’t grow up doing it, is not in Mendes’ league.

Mendes began wrestling at the age of five, competed all through high school, and was a two-time All-American in college. To date, his wrestling has been one of his best weapons, as he’s notched 27 takedowns in his six fights under the Zuffa banner. He’s also never been taken down. But his striking has been a bit undervalued, as he’s landed 47 percent of his significant strikes, according to FightMetric. By comparison, Aldo lands 49 percent of his significant strikes and has stopped an impressive 94 percent of takedown tries against him, making the matchup quite a challenge for Mendes.

“I think with my wrestling credentials, my strength, my athleticism, I don’t think he’s faced anybody like that yet,” he said. “And for me to get in there, put him on his back and take him out of his comfort zone, I think that’s going to be key to beating a guy like that.”

Prior to the fight, Mendes predicted an Aldo win, and more than that, he hoped for it. The way he figures it, if you’re going to go try to win the belt, you might as well try to take it from the best. For better or worse, the big-game hunter has his target set.

“He’s the guy that everyone looks at as unbeatable, and he’s got this hype around him like no one can beat him,” Mendes said. “I want to be the guy to get in there and take that belt from him.”

 

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Chad Mendes Likely Next Title Challenger for Jose Aldo

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HOUSTON — Jose Aldo had barely caught his breath after a five-round unanimous decision win over Kenny Florian in a UFC featherweight championship defense when his future was already being decided.

Aldo may need a rest after the grinding fight, but when he’s ready to get back in the cage, he’s likely to be facing unbeaten Chad Mendes, according to UFC president Dana White.

When asked if Mendes was the next No. 1 contender, White agreed, but with a caveat.

More Coverage: UFC 136 Results

“I’m pretty sure, yeah,” he said. “But we’ll see. Maybe Frankie [Edgar] calls me and says he wants to move to 145. We’ll see what happens.”

Edgar, though, made it pretty clear after his fourth-round TKO win over Gray Maynard that a move to featherweight is his ace in the hole, and it’s not a move he plans to make while he still holds the lightweight championship. Unless he has a change of heart, that should clearly leave Mendes in position to try to unseat Aldo.

Mendes is 11-0 after notching an August decision over Rani Yahya, and he told MMA Fighting on Friday that he was hopeful of the matchup.

“I think I match up better than anybody in the division,” he said. “Obviously my standup is nowhere near his. I’m not an idiot. I know that. But, I think with my wrestling credentials, my strength, my athleticism, I don’t think he’s faced anybody like that yet. And for me to get in there, put him on his back and take him out of his comfort zone, I think that’s going to be key to beating a guy like that.”

Aldo moved to 20-1 by beating Florian. The win was his 13th straight.

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HOUSTON — Jose Aldo had barely caught his breath after a five-round unanimous decision win over Kenny Florian in a UFC featherweight championship defense when his future was already being decided.

Aldo may need a rest after the grinding fight, but when he’s ready to get back in the cage, he’s likely to be facing unbeaten Chad Mendes, according to UFC president Dana White.

When asked if Mendes was the next No. 1 contender, White agreed, but with a caveat.

More Coverage: UFC 136 Results

“I’m pretty sure, yeah,” he said. “But we’ll see. Maybe Frankie [Edgar] calls me and says he wants to move to 145. We’ll see what happens.”

Edgar, though, made it pretty clear after his fourth-round TKO win over Gray Maynard that a move to featherweight is his ace in the hole, and it’s not a move he plans to make while he still holds the lightweight championship. Unless he has a change of heart, that should clearly leave Mendes in position to try to unseat Aldo.

Mendes is 11-0 after notching an August decision over Rani Yahya, and he told MMA Fighting on Friday that he was hopeful of the matchup.

“I think I match up better than anybody in the division,” he said. “Obviously my standup is nowhere near his. I’m not an idiot. I know that. But, I think with my wrestling credentials, my strength, my athleticism, I don’t think he’s faced anybody like that yet. And for me to get in there, put him on his back and take him out of his comfort zone, I think that’s going to be key to beating a guy like that.”

Aldo moved to 20-1 by beating Florian. The win was his 13th straight.

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Five Fights for Florian to Consider Before Aldo

This should not be Florian’s stiffest test before Aldo. Just saying. PicProps: Examiner.com

Dana White has all but made official the next featherweight championship fight, saying that Kenny Florian “pretty much” is next in line for Jose Aldo, and we’ve kind of grumbled about it. It’s not the we don’t like Ken-Flo — we do — but we’re not entirely sold on Florian as the number one contender in the featherweight division.

Being brand new to the weight class, most reasonable people would expect Florian to get two or three good wins before they throw him in against the Brazilian destroyer of legs and faces. It’s not like we’re asking him to go on an eight fight win streak before he gets a title shot, just spend more than fifteen minutes in the weight class.

Being the kind and helpful people we are, we decided to share our own ideas about who Florian could fight next to strengthen his case for a shot at the belt. If Florian wins, then by all means slate him for the Aldo fight. If he loses, he probably wasn’t ready anyway, right?

This should not be Florian’s stiffest test before Aldo.  Just saying.  PicProps: Examiner.com

Dana White has all but made official the next featherweight championship fight, saying that Kenny Florian “pretty much” is next in line for Jose Aldo, and we’ve kind of grumbled about it. It’s not that we don’t like Ken-Flo — we do — but we’re not entirely sold on Florian as the number one contender in the featherweight division.

Being brand new to the weight class, most reasonable people would expect Florian to get two or three good wins before they throw him in against the Brazilian destroyer of legs and faces.  It’s not like we’re asking him to go on an eight fight win streak before he gets a title shot, just spend more than fifteen minutes in the weight class.

Being the kind and helpful people we are, we decided to share our own ideas about who Florian could fight next to strengthen his case for a shot at the belt.  If Florian wins, then by all means slate him for the Aldo fight.  If he loses, he probably wasn’t ready anyway, right?

vs. Chad Mendes

Money Mendes would be a perfect test for Florian, who had difficulty with Gray Maynard’s wrestling at UFC 118.  Florian has worked to improve his wrestling, but Diego Nunes was not going to test that — Mendes would test the shit out of Florian’s TDD and scrambling. If Florian beats Mendes, he’ll make a clear statement that he belongs in the title picture at 145. The catch here is that Mendes already has a fight scheduled for UFC 133 on 6 August, against Rani Yahya. Against Rani Yahya. Rani Yahya. Yeah, they could totally scratch that fight.

vs. Mark Hominick

Hominick came up short against Jose Aldo, but did it in the most impressive manner possible. Clearly a top five talent, Hominick is dealing with postpartum depression after giving birth to that forehead alien Aldo gave him, and has a clear schedule. As soon as he’s medically cleared and ready to fight, we’d love to see him return to challenge Florian. While the Canadian striker wouldn’t necessarily test Florian’s ground game, he should be a good litmus test for Florian’s striking at 145, and we know there will be no shortage of heart when Hominick enters the cage.

vs Dustin Poirier

If you want to sound like a New Orleans native, that city should be properly pronounced “Nawluns”. Draw out that first syllable a little bit.  Similarly, Dustin the Diamond’s surname would be “Pwawyay”. In general, just go slowly and cut down on enunciation, and the locals will at least think you’re from somewhere nearby, rather than another damn tourist. Anywho, Josh Grispi would be in this slot, except he’s now lost two in a row, one of those courtesy of our young friend from Lafayette. Poirier has one loss at 155, and he’s looked great as an undefeated featherweight. While admittedly this is a very dangerous fight for Florian — Poirier is no name opponent — we’d like to see someone test Florian’s cardio and resolve at 145.   Poirier should administer that test capably.

vs Chan Sung Jung

There are few fighters in the UFC’s featherweight division more well-known than The Korean Zombie, so this would be a big-name matchup worthy of a main event five rounder. Like Florian, Jung is long and tall at 145, and dangerous both standing and on the ground. While it debatable if a win over Jung would bolster Florian’s claim to contendership, who cares? It would be plenty of fun to watch. Jung’s dance card is clear after his redemption win over Leonard Garcia, so can we pencil this one in at the end of the summer?

vs Hatsu Hioki

The Sengoku champ and much-ballyhooed potential pickup will need a test of his own when he signs with the UFC, and a Hioki-Florian matchup sounds like a great chance to take the temperature on both fighters.  Hioki looked like a complete fighter in his victory over Marlon Sandro, showing better striking to complement his already tight ground game.  That victory earned Hioki nods as a top five talent from pretty much everyone, so a victory puts Florian as a legitimate championship contender, something we haven’t been completely convinced of quite yet.  Again, Hioki hasn’t been officially signed yet, but when he is, Florian would be a blockbuster first fight for him.

What you got, Nation? Is Ken-Flo ready for Aldo, or should he take another fight first?

[RX]

MMA Top 10 Featherweights: Kenny Florian Moves In

Filed under: UFC, Rankings, FeatherweightsKenny Florian is the most likely next contender for the UFC featherweight championship. But has he really earned a title shot against Jose Aldo?

If the way you “earn” a title shot is to work your way up the la…

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Kenny Florian is the most likely next contender for the UFC featherweight championship. But has he really earned a title shot against Jose Aldo?

If the way you “earn” a title shot is to work your way up the ladder and become the No. 2 fighter in your weight class, then the answer is no. Florian has fought just once at 145 pounds — his unanimous decision victory over Diego Nunes at UFC 131 — and that’s not enough to get him in the No. 2 spot ahead of Chad Mendes, who’s been fighting at featherweight his entire career and built up a 10-0 record.

But the real way a fighter earns a title shot is to become the guy the fans want to see fighting for a title: The UFC is in the business of selling pay-per-views, and Florian vs. Aldo would sell far more pay-per-views than Mendes vs. Aldo. Mendes has fought in the Octagon once and isn’t all that well known, while Florian has fought in Octagon 16 times and is a fan favorite. That’s why he’ll get the next crack at Aldo.

However, that’s not to say Florian isn’t also among the elite featherweights in MMA. Find out where I have him ranked below.

(Number in parentheses is the fighter’s previous ranking.)

1. Jose Aldo (1): So far, in the UFC and WEC there hasn’t been a featherweight who has what it takes to challenge Aldo: He’s 9-0 fighting under the Zuffa banner and hasn’t been in any real trouble. We’ll see if Florian can be the man to test Aldo, but I have my doubts.

2. Chad Mendes (2): Mendes thought he had earned the next shot at Aldo, but instead he’ll take on Rani Yahya in August, and hope that a good showing there earns him a title fight after that. Mendes is only 10 fights into his MMA career and still a little green, so having to wait a little longer may be good for him.

3. Hatsu Hioki (3): Here’s hoping Hioki is able to sign with the UFC soon. The best featherweights in the world are waiting for Hioki, who has been great in Japan and whose long limbs and well-rounded striking and grappling style could make him a threat to most of the top competition in the UFC.

4. Kenny Florian (NR): Is one win at 145 pounds enough to make Florian worthy of a Top 5 ranking? I think it is, considering that the one win was a very impressive one against a good opponent, and considering that Florian was generally recognized as a Top 5 fighter in a more talented weight class when he was fighting at 155.

5. Manny Gamburyan (4): Gamburyan is trying to bounce back from his loss to Aldo in September, and he’s got a very interesting fight coming up against Tyson Griffin, who like Gamburyan and Florian is a former lightweight hoping for more success in the shallower waters of the featherweight division.

6. Marlon Sandro (6): Bellator’s featherweight division has picked up some top-notch talent, and in my opinion the best of the bunch is Sandro, who will take on fellow Brazilian Genair da Silva in the first round of Bellator’s summer featherweight tournament.

7. Mark Hominick (7): His gutsy performance in defeat against Jose Aldo endeared Hominick to MMA fans. There’s talk that Hominick could face Chan Sung Jung next, in a fight that couldn’t possibly be anything less than thrilling.

8. Erik Koch (8): Koch is 12-1 in his career, with the only loss coming against Mendes. He’s been matched up with Season 12 Ultimate Fighter winner Jonathan Brookins in September.

9. Dustin Poirier (10): Poirier has looked like a much better fighter since moving down to featherweight, dominating both Josh Grispi and Jason Young at 145 pounds. Poirier is only 22 years old and is a likely future title contender.

10. Diego Nunes (9): Although he came up short against Florian, Nunes is only 28 years old and not done improving. He has a lot of big featherweight fights ahead of him.

 

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Quick Quote of the Day: Jose Aldo Would Fight a Teammate If It Made Dollars and Cents


(Photographic proof of how the UFC contributed to  Aldo’s injury. That’s a slam dunk insurance claim right there.)

With the UFC featherweight title picture out of focus until champ Jose Aldo heals from a nagging shoulder injury, a question that was recently brought up was what happens if Diego Nunes beats Kenny Florian Saturday night at UFC 131? Surely, he won’t fight a teammate, since that’s a faux pas in Brazil, right?

Think again.

According to Aldo’s longtime trainer and Nova Uniao founder Andre Pederneiras, “Everyone from Nova Uniao knows that if they have to fight against each other, they will.”


(Photographic proof of how the UFC contributed to  Aldo’s injury. That’s a slam dunk insurance claim right there.)

With the UFC featherweight title picture out of focus until champ Jose Aldo heals from a nagging shoulder injury, a question that was recently brought up was what happens if Diego Nunes beats Kenny Florian Saturday night at UFC 131? Surely, he won’t fight a teammate, since that’s a faux pas in Brazil, right?

Think again.

According to Aldo’s longtime trainer and Nova Uniao founder Andre Pederneiras, “Everyone from Nova Uniao knows that if they have to fight against each other, they will.”

It’s no secret that the UFC has given Florian his fair share of title shots and that his recent move to 145 was likely prompted by a promise of a future crack at UFC featherweight gold, but Aldo says he shouldn’t sleep on an undefeated prospect like Nunes.

“I believe Diego will defeat Kenny Florian,” Aldo told Sherdog recently. “Diego is well-prepared. He has ‘blood in his eyes’ for that fight and he’s ready to reach the top of the division. He has enough talent to fight for the title.”

As far as facing Nunes in the future if he still holds the strap, Aldo says it’s a possibility if the UFC makes it worth their while.

“If that [title fight] happens with us, we’ll sit and talk to see how we deal with that,” Aldo explains. “I don’t know if I would fight him. It depends more on our agents and on [Nova Uniao leader] Andre Pederneiras. If the UFC wants to see that, they’ll have to pay real good money.”

The fighter who has next dibs on Aldo could miss out on the opportunity if he loses the bout he took in the meantime against submission wiz Rani Yahya.

Not satisfied with sitting on the sidelines waiting for Aldo to heal up, Chad Mendes chose instead to face Yahya at UFC 133 in August. Although his recent 1-2 skid doesn’t show it, Yahya is a dangerous fighter having beaten the likes of Mike Brown, Mark Hominick and Eddie Wineland.

Aldo says he isn’t exactly sure why Mendes took the high-risk fight, but noted he’s rooting for his fellow countryman in Philadelphia.

“I don’t know exactly what Chad’s thing was. He was set to be my next challenger, and I understand his decision not to wait for me. We didn’t sign anything, so he was free,” explained Aldo. “I believe it will be a huge fight, but as a Brazilian, I will cheer for Rani.”

After aggravating the lingering shoulder injury in training, Aldo took the advice of his doctor who told him that rest would be the best medicine for the wonky joint and has stayed out of the gym. He anticipates a return to training in the next two to three weeks.

“My recovery is going great,” Aldo affirmed. “I haven’t done anything but physical therapy for the last four weeks and I’m really looking forward to training again. I miss it a lot. Next week, my doctors and physiotherapists will talk to me and probably release me. Obviously I won’t return at 100 percent. I’ll maybe need around two more weeks to be completely recovered and training hard.”

Chad Mendes on Bypassing Wait for Jose Aldo Fight: ‘I Just Want to Compete’

Filed under: UFCFaced with what might be one of the toughest career decisions for a mixed martial artist, Chad Mendes wasted little time in coming to a decision. The unbeaten 26-year-old featherweight contender had already been mentioned as the likely …

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Faced with what might be one of the toughest career decisions for a mixed martial artist, Chad Mendes wasted little time in coming to a decision. The unbeaten 26-year-old featherweight contender had already been mentioned as the likely next opponent for division champion Jose Aldo. An August date had been mentioned as a possibility. Everything seemed to be lining up perfectly for his shot at gold. But then Aldo announced he wouldn’t be ready by August.

With the prospective Aldo match pushed back a month or two into the fall, Mendes (10-0) had two options: train and wait, or train and fight someone else. He chose the latter, putting his title opportunity in jeopardy. But on Tuesday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Mendes said it was not a particularly hard call to make for him and his team.

“We talked about it,” he said. “It definitely is something we were thinking about, but I want to compete. It’s frustrating to get in here and train 2-3 times a day hard, every day, and not have a light at the end of the tunnel, a fight to look forward to. That’s what motivates me. Getting that opponent, knowing who it is, watching tape on him, that’s what motivates me to get in and bust my butt every day. It’s frustrating not knowing, so like I said, I just want to compete.”

He acknowledged that the decision was made a bit easer by the fact that the bout was not yet official. Neither side had ever signed a contract. Still, Aldo-Mendes was clearly the intended direction of the promotion.

The would-be challenger said in addition to wanting to get a hard date for his next bout, he also prefers to give the champion proper time to heal rather than simply hoping he can make a proposed date.

“It’s something I wanted and it’s what I was pushing for, but overall if he’s injured, take as much time as you need,” he said. “I’d rather fight the best Jose Aldo there is and have no excuses.

“I love to fight,” he continued. “I want to get in there and compete. I didn’t want to wait 8-9 months if he wasn’t going to fight. So I decided to go with Rani Yahya, a for-sure fight. I had the contract in front of me, so I took it.”

Mendes’ bout with Yahya will take place at UFC 133 on August 6 — the same date he would have faced Aldo. The former WEC star won his UFC debut in February with a unanimous decision over Michihiro Omigawa, making it a perfect 5-for-5 in Zuffa-promoted bouts.

Yahya (16-6) is a very different fighter from Aldo. While the champion Aldo is all fast-twitch muscle, a wiry, powerful striker with capable takedowns, Yahya is a submission specialist who has 14 wins via tapout. In his last bout, he defeated former champ Mike Brown via decision.

Before that, though, Yahya had lost two in a row. The Brown fight marked his return to featherweight, and Mendes feels it’s a better weight class for him, as evidenced by the way he controlled Brown.

“I think 145 is his more natural weight,” he said. “You can tell he feels a lot better. He dominated Brown, and Brown’s a strong wrestler. It looked like he just overpowered him. I’m not looking past the guy at all.”

Given Yahya’s jiu-jitsu pedigree, this could be the type of match where Mendes uses his wrestling in reverse, to keep the fight standing where he feels he has an edge. Even though Mendes admits his standup is “probably the weakest part” of his game, he adds that it’s not weak at all, simply suffering in comparison to other aspects. He adds that he has no qualms in taking the fight to the ground against a dangerous submission specialist.

A win would make him 11-0, and he hopes that the sum total of all this will be the same payoff he was originally supposed to get: a matchup with Aldo.

“Honestly, it’s not something that’s been told to me by anyone important,” he said. “I’m hoping that’s what’s going to happen. I honestly believe that’s what I deserve. I feel like I’ve proven myself and if I beat Yahya, that’s just another step to the title. So like I said, no one’s told me, but let’s keep our fingers crossed. “

 

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