Chad Mendes recently enjoyed the biggest payday of his combat sports career.
Mendes made his bare-knuckle fighting debut under the BKFC banner this past Saturday night (Feb. 19). He went one-on-one with Joshuah Alvarez and scored the fourth-round TKO finish. This was Mendes’ first fight since late 2018.
Why Chad Mendes Initially Retired
Chad Mendes appeared as a guest on The MMA Hour. He explained to Ariel Helwani why he walked away from pro MMA competition while still a viable contender in the UFC.
“When I retired, I didn’t leave because I didn’t think I could compete with the best. I know I still can, I feel like I’m still in my prime. It just didn’t make sense at that time for what I was getting paid. So, I stepped away from it but I still didn’t lose that drive to compete at all. I still love doing it.”
More Dough Than Conor McGregor Fight
Back in July 2015, Mendes had the most high-profile fight of his career when he shared the Octagon with Conor McGregor. “Money” told Ariel Helwani that his BKFC fight was more lucrative than any of his prior fights.
“Yeah, yup that was true, including Conor.”
When asked if the amount for the BKFC fight was significantly more than the McGregor bout, he said the following.
“Close to that but yeah more.”
Mendes said that while the UFC deal he signed wasn’t a bad contract at the time, it is outdated in 2022.
“Yeah I mean I do think looking back now of course but that’s just where the sport was. When I signed that contract it was a good contract. It wasn’t great but it was good. From then till now it’s a bit outdated and I still have three fights on it but it’s just where the sport was at that time.”
Time will tell if Mendes will continue to fight. He is open to a UFC return if he’s given a new deal for significantly more money.
