Mendes Denies Threat to Steal Aldo's Belt
Chad
Mendes has a lot of respect for UFC featherweight king Jose Aldo. |
Photo: Dave Mandel
On Jan. 14, Chad Mendes will have the biggest opportunity of his MMA career when he challenges featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 142.
The Team Alpha Male product says that he is not, however, providing his opponent with any bulletin-board material leading up to the fight.
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“Actually I don't even read the news about my fights,” the Nova Uniao standout said. “I try to keep my focus on me, and outside the gym I try to keep my head off the fights. For me, who says too much doesn't [mean] too much, and I don't like to get involved in this strategy. What happens inside the Octagon is more important.”
Mendes denies ever making such comments. Like Aldo, he prefers to let his fighting do the talking. "I never said anything about keeping a picture of Jose in my fridge or about going to his house to take the belt...I will not take his belt from his house where it doesn't matter. I will take it in the cage where it does matter," Mendes said in a statement through his manager, Mike Roberts. "I have a ton of respect for Jose. That's why I want to compete against him."
Aldo enters the contest on a 13-fight winning streak. The former WEC 145-pound champion made his UFC debut in April, besting Mark Hominick via unanimous decision. His second appearance resulted in another decision triumph versus former lightweight contender Kenny Florian at UFC 136. Mendes, meanwhile, is unbeaten in 11 outings and owns wins over Michihiro Omigawa and Rani Yahya inside the Octagon.
Going down from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, UFC 142 marks the promotion's first card in MMA's South American hub since UFC 134 in August. Along with the Aldo-Mendes headliner, the event features a key middleweight showdown between Anthony Johnson and Vitor Belfort.
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