Chad Mendes
• Former NCAA Division I wrestling finalist at 141 pounds (2008. Wrestled at Cal-Poly in San Luis Obispo, the same alma mater as UFC legend
Chuck Liddell)
• An avid outdoorsman who relishes fishing and hunting.
• One of the greatest and most ferocious bundles of fast-twitch muscles in all of
MMA. Possesses a rare explosive ability to physically bulldoze opponents, punish and overwhelm them
• A top contender to
Jose Aldo’s UFC
featherweight title
• Notable wins over
Michihiro Omigawa,
Javier Vazquez,
Cub Swanson and
Erik Koch• Very much a genuinely humble, hard-working, no-frills type.
• Reminds some of a lighter weight version of UFC
light heavyweight contender
Ryan Bader• From Hanford, Calif., but now fighting out of Sacramento, Calif., where he is one of premiere representatives of Team Alpha Male (along with
Urijah Faber and
Joseph Benavidez)
TRAINING: 9:30-11am - drilling and live MMA sparring/grappling/
wrestling. 2pm -
Kickboxing and conditioning with Master Thong. 3 mile run.
When and why did you start training for fighting? I started wrestling at the age of five, so I have grown up competing pretty much my entire life. I met
Urijah Faber when I was in high school and worked wrestling camps with him during my college summers. I did some
jiu-jitsu with him at a few of these camps and really liked it. After college wrestling I still had the drive to compete, so I decided to move to Sacramento and start training with Team Alpha Male.
What ranks and titles have you held? 2x PAC 10 champ, 2x D1 NCAA All-American
Do you have any heroes? My Father. He has gone through a lot in his life and has really shown me what it means to never quit.
What is your favorite technique? The wushu finger hold
What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? This is a huge accomplishment for me considering I've only been fighting for about 2 1/2 years now. I never expected to be fighting for the
UFC so soon. I remember watching the
UFC when I was a kid and thought it was the coolest thing ever and now I'm a part of it. It feels awesome!
Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? Cal-Poly
What was your job before you started fighting? Student
