another jon jones style champ? only 3 years? title fight coming up
By Sergio Non, USA TODAY
Chad Mendes can't think of a better time than August to fight featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
"That's perfect," says Mendes, the No. 3 featherweight in the USA TODAY/SB Nation consensus rankings. "Right after my last fight, it was something that was talked about, so it's been in the back of my head, and I've been looking forward."
A showdown with the Ultimate Fighting Championship's featherweight belt-holder hasn't become official, but Mendes "probably" will get the next title shot, UFC President Dana White said last month. A championship bout at this point would cap a remarkably rapid rise for Mendes, a decorated collegiate wrestler who started fighting professionally less than three years ago for former champion Urijah Faber's Team Alpha Male.
USA TODAY spoke to Mendes shortly after White's pronouncement. Excerpts from the conversation:
Q: In your last fight, you stood with Michihiro Omigawa quite a bit, which may have surprised some people. Were you trying to prove something with your stand-up, or did you sense a vulnerability on his part?
Mendes: It was kind of a mix of both, really.
I've been training now for almost three years. I've been working on my stand-up a lot every single day. I've been getting a lot of slack in some of my past fights about how I'm lacking in the stand-up game, but I know I have it.
It's just that being a wrestler, wrestling my entire life, it's just the natural reaction to take it to the ground. I just wanted to get away from that a little bit. I actually felt like my stand-up was a lot better than his.
Honestly, I actually felt a little more comfortable with the stand-up than on the ground. He actually had a very strong guard -- he was very strong, in general -- and he almost caught me a couple of times with a few submissions. The reverse armbar, that was pretty tight.
Was there a moment in practice where everything clicked for you in stand-up, or has it been a gradual thing?
Like I said, I've been working on it every single day, sparring and hitting mitts with Master Tong and going over techniques with all our guys. So I think it's a gradual thing that's been coming on.
I feel each fight I'm just getting more and more confident throwing them too. All the guys in the gym are telling me, "Your hands are great, just let them go in a fight." But there was still that confidence thing, just getting in there and doing it.
What was it about Omigawa's style that made you feel confident enough to stand and bang with him?
He's pretty flat-footed. Using my quick in-and-out movement, I just knew that I was a lot faster than he was.
There wasn't really danger with his hands. He doesn't really throw with a lot of technique. It's kind of just a lot of arm punches.
There wasn't a lot of danger, so I felt confident getting in there and banging.
So have you been offered the Aldo fight officially?
It's nothing official. I haven't signed anything yet, but I'm hoping. That's what I want.
Supposedly it's August in Philly. How does that timetable work for you?
That's perfect. I've been training and just maintaining and working on stuff this whole time.
Right after my last fight, it was something that was talked about, so it's been in the back of my head, and I've been looking forward. We've been staying active, and I feel like I'm still in great shape. I'll be ready to go by then.
We're talking six months between fights. I assume you'd like to be busier than that.
Yeah, definitely. And it has been in the past; I've been fighting every three to four months.
The six-month layoff is a little bit long, but I've done it before, when I broke my hand right before I signed with Zuffa, with the WEC. It sucks. I definitely like getting in there and competing, but it's all part of this. If I have to wait for the title, then I'm definitely willing to wait.
How healthy were you coming out of the Omigawa fight? Did his armbars have any lasting effect on you?
No, nothing like that. I know during the fight, it felt a little stretched out, but the day after, everything felt normal.
My right hand, I thought it broke during the fight. My knuckle and the top of my hand looked very, very badly bruised. That took probably a good two to three weeks to heal. But that's normal now; it's all fine. Other than that, nothing.
Do you find MMA to cause more injuries than when you wrestled or no?
Tell you the truth, I feel like I got hurt more in wrestling. I think it's just because wrestling's so much more of a grind. You're just banging on each other's head and getting in crazy scramble positions all the time, every single day.
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