Some two and a half years after announcing his retirement shortly after a defeat against Alexander Volkanovski, Chad Mendes has confirmed he’s set to make a comeback — but it will come in the world of bare-knuckle boxing rather than mixed martial arts.
Mendes, who was defeated by Conor McGregor in the summer of 2015 as the Dubliner gained his first taste of UFC gold, has long been known as one of the featherweight division’s most potent power punchers and will get a chance to show off his stand-up skills after he inked a multi-fight deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
Mendes had suggested that he was contemplating a move to BKB on a recent appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, where he said: “I want to try something different. I think we’re going to throw some bareknuckle in there, just mix it up and get real crazy.”
He will now become the latest ex-UFC fighter to have moved to bare knuckle boxing, following a list of fighters that also includes Artem Lobov and Paige VanZant.
Mendes’ run through the UFC saw him at one point register a 16-1 record before results stagnated towards the back-end of his career.
He can claim impressive wins against the likes of Cub Swanson, Darren Elkins, Clay Guida, Ricardo Lamas and Myles Jury, who was Mendes’ final UFC win back in the summer of 2018.
