Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Three-time UFC title challenger Chad Mendes may not be done with combat sports just yet.
“Money” was a top-ranked Featherweight contender in the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and UFC for a long time. He went to absolute war with the likes of Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor in title fights, as well as taking out top names of his era like Ricardo Lamas and Cub Swanson. The heavy-handed wrestler retired from UFC competition in 2019 after a competitive loss to Alexander Volkanovski (who turned out to be pretty good), but his retirement didn’t last too long.
In 2022, Mendes returned to action under the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) banner. He won his first fight via knockout then lost a split-decision to Eddie Alvarez in the BKFC 2023 “Fight of the Year” (watch highlights). After the Alvarez loss in April 2023, Mendes returned to retirement … for a time?
On Tuesday (Jan. 7, 2025), Mendes posted to social media and hinted at a return to combat sports. “The big offers keep coming in and I’m still down to whoop some ass,” he wrote. “Something BIG just happened guys…. Stay tuned.”
There are several likely options. For one, BKFC could have come to Mendes with an offer he couldn’t refuse. Alternatively, Mendes explained that he was still under UFC contract while competing in bare knuckle, so there’s a chance he could fight again inside the Octagon. Finally, Global Fight League (GFL) has been offering contracts to lots of ex-UFC contenders, so maybe Mendes inked a new deal there.
One way or another, it sounds like the 39 year old isn’t done competing just yet.
Insomnia
I’m quite curious to see how Mackenzie Dern adjusts for the Amanda Ribas rematch. She’s a lot better now than in 2019 but simultaneously has many of the same flaws.
The apparent answer to “Where does Kevin Lee fit into this?” is as a union rep.
Kevin Lee: If doing a 50-50 split with the fighters and the promotion doesn’t work and that’s what we see here, then it’s gonna give transparency into what this sport actually is. And if it is an actual sport. If you can only pay guys 18% of the back end and that’s the only… pic.twitter.com/RF1XCuNO8a
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) January 7, 2025
So much for the Gilbert Burns vs. Colby Covington beef?
I appreciate Chris Curtis’ openness here.
A bit more Alex Pereira content, sparring with top-ranked Middleweight contender Caio Borralho. I feel like “Poatan” travels around and trains everywhere?
Daniel Cormier weighs in on the Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall UFC negotiations.
Daniel Cormier doesn’t believe the UFC will pay Jon Jones $30 million to fight Tom Aspinall:
“I’ll tell you guys, as someone who has been involved in big fights, $30 million was a world away from what we were making…
But if you’re asking for $30 million and end up with $20… pic.twitter.com/Y8HYdkGIok
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 8, 2025
A rather cool bit of fight art that effectively shows off Islam Makhachev’s well-rounded skills.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
A lovely bit of slip-and-rip, then that first Southpaw right hook in the finishing sequence was thrown more like an overhand. Neat!
A great fight you (probably) didn’t see from 2024.
I don’t care if he’s fighting randoms, 44-year-old men shouldn’t be able to fight like this.
Random Land
Prayers and best wishes to those affected by the Palisades fires.
Midnight Music: Indie soul, 2019
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
