"He's a Mini-Me Mike Tyson" - Brendan Schaub on Chad Mendes' BKFC debut
Brendan Schaub showered Chad Mendes with praise after the NCAA Division I All-American defeated Joshua Alvarez by TKO in his bare-knuckle boxing debut.
After losing three of his last four fights in the UFC, 'Money' decided to take a hiatus from combat sports. He eventually made his return and inked a multiple-fight deal with BKFC. Mendes had his first bout for the promotion at KnuckleMania 2, stopping Alvarez in the fourth round.
During the latest episode of The Schaub Show, Schaub revealed that he was very impressed by Mendes. 'Big Brown' even compared the former featherweight title challenger to boxing legend Mike Tyson, saying:
"Chad Mendes is just a little ball of muscle. He's the Mike Tyson of that [division] like he has the short black shorts... He looks like f***ng Mike Tyson in there. Look at his arm, dude. He's a Mini-Me Mike Tyson. Poor 'Famez' [Joshua Alvarez] dude. What a terrible way to do this."
Watch the latest episode of The Schaub Show:
Chad Mendes believes he would have beaten Conor McGregor with a full training camp
Chad Mendes was inserted into an interim featherweight title bout against Conor McGregor at UFC 189 after Jose Aldo had to withdraw at the eleventh hour. 'Money' controlled the first round and managed to land multiple takedowns.
However, the Irishman picked Mendes apart in the second frame, peppering him with a barrage of strikes. McGregor eventually landed a crisp one-two and followed it up with a few ground strikes to win by TKO.
#UFC189An iconic performance on an iconic card 🙌
Five years ago today, just three months after tearing his ACL, @TheNotoriousMMA knocked out Chad Mendes to become the UFC interim champion 🏆🇮🇪 #UFC189 https://t.co/4s6rtopgMH
During a recent conversation with John McCarthy and Josh Thomson on the Weighing In Xtra YouTube channel, Mendes revealed that he went into UFC 189 with a broken foot. 'Money' believes he would've beaten McGregor with a full training camp. He said:
"Jumped right into training, as hard as I could. First day of sparring, I got a southpaw, a tall southpaw... I throw an inside leg kick, he checked it and he caught it right on top of my foot. I ended up fracturing my foot... If there was [to do] a redo on anything, I wish I could have that fight over. If I had a full training camp, I know that would have been a fight I would have won."
Watch Chad Mendes discuss his bout with Conor McGregor below:
Mendes believes that his BKFC debut was a huge success. He will likely fight a higher-ranked fighter in his next outing for the company.