Mendes Expecting Another Fight Before Title Shot

Chad Mendes delivered the biggest win of his career Nov. 11 when he outpointed Javier Vazquez at WEC 52, but the rising featherweight doesn’t expect his next bout to be for the belt.

“I’m guessing there’s going to be one more, at least one more fight, before any kind of title stuff,” Mendes said during a recent interview on the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show.

Mendes is 9-0 overall and 4-0 in the WEC. A standout wrestler in college, he has only been fighting for two years, but it was conceivable that a win over Vazquez would garner him a title shot.

“Nobody important has told me that I’m next, so I’m just kind of going with the flow,” Mendes said. “I’ve said it before: If that’s what [Zuffa officials] want, I’m definitely down to do it. It’s what I’m training to do. It’s my job.”

Mendes won all three rounds against Vazquez on each judge’s scorecard. However, Vazquez might have deserved the first based on his activity from his back, which included numerous strikes. Still, throughout the fight, Mendes proved adept at thwarting Vazquez’s submission game.

“He definitely had the most active guard that I’ve been in,” Mendes said. “I never really felt in danger of any of the stuff he was doing.”

Somewhat surprisingly, Mendes appeared to do some of his best work on the feet.

“I definitely feel like I rocked him a few times,” he said. “He’d back up with me punching him and he would hit the cage and either shoot or … just pull guard. I definitely could have let him up a couple of times, I think.”

Mendes might have done more damage if he’d kept trading punches. Regardless, his success striking with Vazquez showed that he is continuing to become a better mixed martial artist.

“I got to let my hands go a little bit more than past fights,” he said. “I kind of wanted to keep it more standing, but I still have that instinct to just shoot when I get close enough, when I see it open. It’s still something I’m working on, but overall I felt good in there.”

In addition to demonstrating a varied skill set, Mendes pointed to improved cardio during the bout. He explained that he had done less powerlifting in training and packed on less muscle. Previously he had subscribed to the view that it’s an advantage to be as big and strong as weight cutting allows.

“In reality it’s not always the case,” Mendes said. “You cut that much weight, and by the time it’s time to compete, you feel like crap because your body’s drained. You’re just not able to train as hard as you could if you were eating and feeling good all the time.”

Mendes believes he’s found a good balance where he’ll come in with size but won’t be drained. He referenced UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar as an example of a fighter who’s using a similar approach.

“I think a guy like Frankie Edgar is the type of person that performs well when he can eat and train at his best and not have to worry about cutting weight,” Mendes said. “I feel the same way. I personally hate cutting weight. I’ve been doing it for a really long time because of wrestling. I’ve just found that my body functions better when I can eat proper and train harder.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:28:00) with Mendes, who also discussed his upcoming transition to the UFC.