Chad Mendes gives the reason behind his retirement after BKFC 41 battle with Eddie Alvarez
Chad Mendes opened up about his decision to retire from combat sports.
On Saturday, April 29, Mendes fought for the last time in a thrilling bare-knuckle war against Eddie Alvarez. After losing by split decision, ‘Money’ announced that he was officially retiring. During the BKFC 41 post-fight press conference, the former UFC title challenger had this to say about his decision to step away:
“I’ve been going back and forth with this. Obviously I retired from the UFC back in 2018, and I was honestly done. I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into a few businesses and just spending the family quality time that I love doing."
Mendes continued:
“I just don’t need to be doing this sh*t anymore. It’s fun, but I feel like at this point I’m just being selfish. I’ve got a solid family that loves me, and I’ve got other things in the works that I pour my heart and soul into to be successful at. But man, that was one hell of a fight.”
After losing against Alexander Volkanovski in December 2018, Mendes left the UFC with a promotional record of 9-5. Three years later, he signed with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, winning his debut with a fourth-round knockout in February 2022.
Chad Mendes vs. Eddie Alvarez is an instant classic! https://t.co/6rlhUPsA8u
Watch Chad Mendes' post-fight press conference below:
Chad Mendes wanted to retire before fighting Eddie Alvarez
Chad Mendes teased his retirement before fighting Eddie Alvarez. After their five-round clash at BKFC 41, Mendes was candid about the matchup against Alvarez being too intriguing to pass up. He had this to say during the BKFC 41 post-fight press conference:
“I had no desire [to fight], but something like this came up, and obviously the pay is really good, and it’s something that’s new, which kind of excited me, so I did it. I was done after that first one, but then they dangled somebody like this dude [Alvarez] in front of me, so I was like, ‘All right, I’ll do one more. This could be the retirement fight.'”
Chad Mendes will retire with an 18-5 professional MMA record. Before the WEC-UFC merger, ‘Money’ made a name for himself by winning all four fights in the former MMA promotion.
During his UFC tenure, he fought for three world championships, losing two against Jose Aldo and one interim title fight against Conor McGregor. He ended his MMA career with eight KO/TKO wins and two submissions.
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