WEC fighters have always had to scrap and claw for attention that is usually directed towards the athletes of the UFC. With the recent merger news, that’s changing in a hurry. Several of the WEC’s fights over its final two events have implications that will affect the division when it is rechristened with three familiar letters.
One of those bouts is WEC 52‘s featherweight matchup pitting unbeaten Chad Mendes against veteran Javier Vazquez. Both men are trying to work their way to the front of the line for consideration at a title shot. But to hear Vazquez tell it, Mendes hasn’t exactly earned his keep. In a recent interview with the Las Vegas Sun, Vazquez said that while Mendes is a good athlete, “he’s been kind of spoon-fed in a lot of ways,” and “the second he runs into somebody he can’t just bully around, he’s going to break.”
On Monday evening, Mendes responded.
Hospitalized after a head kick knockout on Thursday night, WEC featherweight 
a vicious left kick to