Chad Mendes has a deal with bare-knuckle FC, but not without direction from the UFC. Due to Mendes still being under contract with the organization, he shed some light on his deal with the promotion.
Chad Mendes Reveals Bare Knuckle FC Deal While Being Under UFC Contract
Recently, the promotion announced that Chad Mendes signed a contract with Bare Knuckle FC. Although Chad is expected to make his bare-knuckle debut in October, it’s still unknown who his opponent will be. Furthermore, after speaking to Sirius XM, Mendes revealed that although it came out that he was realized from his UFC contract, he’s still in a deal with the promotion.
🔊 "UFC's basically allowing me to go make some money [fighting for BKFC] and basically I still have a home with the UFC, if ever want to come back."@chadmendes shares some surprising details w/@RyanMcKinnell about his new BKFC deal👊
⬇️Full Interview⬇️https://t.co/bdZrJCajFj pic.twitter.com/qRoSsjhgOq
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) August 9, 2021
“They threw out some big numbers and I’ve always wanted to try boxing. There was actually a little bit of talk with De La Hoya, even, just getting in there and doing some boxing with him,” said Mendes.
“But here’s the tricky part is I’m still under UFC contract. I still have fights on my contract, and so the UFC (is) basically allowing me to go make some money doing this bare-knuckle, and basically I still have a home with the UFC if I ever wanted to come back. Obviously, my contract at the time of signing it was four, five years ago or something like that. It’s not a very good contract anymore. At the time, it was pretty good, but I would definitely need to re-talk and re-figure that sucker out.”
Mendes Blown Away by UFC’s Decision
As the interview continued, Mendes explained his disbelief that the UFC let him compete in the bare-knuckle. Especially after their history of being strict with fighters under contract competing under different promotions.
“I thought they were just gonna say, ‘Screw you, not happening.’ But I’ve always had a good relationship with the UFC,” he continued.
“I felt I always tried to go above and beyond doing all the media and doing everything that led up to fights and I always trained my ass off and went in there and just competed as hard as I possibly could. It is awesome to see them kind of recognize that and allow this to happen.”
Are fans excited for Chad Mendes Bare Knuckle FC’s debut?