Chad Mendes (16-2) har mött fjäderviktsmästaren Jose Aldo (25-1) två gånger och har förlorat båda gångerna, men möjligheten för att han ska gå en tredje match mot Aldo finns menar Mendes.
Mendes hoppas på att hans senaste match mot Aldo var tillräckligt spännande och bra för att fans ska vilja se en tredje match mellan dom båda.
“It sucks I’ve lost to (Aldo) twice now, and it doesn’t really happen a lot where you get three chances to fight a guy you’ve already lost to twice,” Mendes told MMAjunkie. “With that last fight, it was a barnburner, and hopefully enough people want to see it again that if I get in there and beat Lamas and he beats McGregor, that’s what happens.”
“Ultimately, it is up to the UFC. My job is to make weight, get in there and fight. I’m just going to keep going in there and doing what I can do and control what I can control. Hopefully I’ll eventually fight again for that belt.”
Den andra matchen mot Aldo var ett riktigt krig och Mendes gav allt han hade i den matchen.
“That fight was a war,” Mendes said. “I had told myself going into that it was going to be the hardest thing I’ll ever do in my life, and it was. I made my mind up. I went in there and had no fear and left everything – my heart and soul – in that octagon. So, all in all, I don’t have any regrets, and I’m not beating myself up bad about it. I’m obviously a little bummed I didn’t get the (win), but that goes with any sport. I feel I tested Aldo and showed everyone he’s human and can be beat.”
“A couple things change, and I win that fight – if I don’t get rocked big in the first round,” Mendes said. “After I got rocked in the first round, every time I got hit after that, whether it was hard or not, it would ring my bell. So my head was pretty messed up at that point, and that can change a fight from the beginning to the end. There were a couple rounds in that fight where I would start laying it heavy on him, and he would throw something wild and barely touch my head, and I would get rocked. That lays heavy in the eyes of the judges. A couple of those things don’t happen, and I win that fight.
Mendes medger att det inte känns bra att ha förlorat mot just Aldo två gånger men att han är fokuserad på hans nästa motståndare.
“It sucks I didn’t get the win, but what sucks more is I’ve now lost to Aldo twice. All in all, I’m not getting down on myself. Just jump right in and get better. I’ve fixed some small things, and now focus on the next opponent.”
Mendes tycker att hans nästa motståndare Ricardo Lamas (15-3) är en fighter som är bra på allting, men inte superbra på just en enda sak. Mendes känner att han är snabbare och starkare än Lamas.
“I match up great with him,” sa Mendes. “Lamas is a guy who is good everywhere. There hasn’t been a spot where he’s super dangerous as far as being great in one specific area, but he’s good everywhere. He’s got good standup. He can throw a jab and completely rock and drop a top-five guy in the division (Dennis Bermudez) and finish him with a submission super quick. He’s basically a guy that grinds out fights. He’s a guy that will throw some output. He’s got a couple combos that he favors, I feel like.”
“He’s a guy that I’ve watched for a long time and I feel like I match up great with him. I’ve never been taken down in a fight, and I pride myself on my takedown defense and my ability to scramble. I feel like I’m quicker and have more power than him.”
Mendes vet inte riktigt vad UFC har för planer med honom om han vinner mot Lamas och han vet inte själv vem han skulle kunna möta förutom Aldo.
“I’ve thought about this, and I really have no idea what’s going to happen or what the UFC is going to do (with this division),” sa Mendes. “Frankie (Edgar) is fighting (Urijah) Faber (in May), and whatever happens in that fight could completely change what happens with everything else.”
“If I beat Lamas, I don’t know who else I would fight besides for the title next. I really have no idea what’s going to happen. I would like to fight (more often). I don’t like being on the shelf, but it’s ultimately up to the UFC.”
