Chad Mendes’ first impression of the BKFC couldn’t have gone much better.
The three-time UFC featherweight title challenger was victorious in his bare-knuckle boxing debut, outclassing opponent “Famez” and knocking him out in the fourth round of their fight at BKFC KnuckleMania 2 this past Saturday in Hollywood, Fla.
Much of the talk leading into the the 36-year-old’s first BKFC fight revolved around whether this would be a one-off or if it could be the start of a comeback for Mendes, who last fought for the UFC in December 2018. On The MMA Hour on Wednesday, Mendes put his return into perspective.
” Now, for me fighting isn’t something I need to do just because it’s money,” Mendes stated. Mendes said that fighting, particularly this fight is a bonus. I have that competitive drive, and would love to compete again. So I guess there was probably less weight on my shoulders.
” The pay portion of it was back in mixed martial arts days. It’s almost like you get only half the money if you lose. That weighs heavily on you. The businesses didn’t exist. I have multiple businesses now outside of fighting that are doing well and are fun, and that’s kind of like my bread and butter now, and like I said, this is just a bonus.”
Mendes added that he was paid more for this fight than any of his UFC fights, including his UFC 189 headlining bout against Conor McGregor in 2015. For that bout, which took place in Las Vegas, Mendes received a disclosed payout of $500,000. It is not known if Mendes received any percentage of the pay-per-view revenue or if he received any other discretionary bonuses for that fight.
He didn’t give an exact number when asked how much he earned at BKFC. He said that it was close to [the Conor payout],, but more .”
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Mendes stated to the media ahead of Saturday’s bout that he remains under UFC contract despite signing a three fight deal with BKFC. Mendes isn’t sure why the UFC permitted him to pursue this opportunity, but he is grateful that the process went smoothly.
“My managers figured it all out,” Mendes said. “I didn’t really ask too much, as soon as we got the yes and the contract to sign, I said, ‘That’s good. Let’s go.'”
“It’s so awesome to see [the UFC] doing that,” he added. “I honestly expected a, ‘Hell no,’ like, ‘You’re not going anywhere.’ They were super cool about it. “Look! We’re not going to stop you making that kind of money for your family. We’ll give you the blessing. You can do it.
Mendes called his BKFC debut “the best I’ve had” not only for what happened on fight night but also for how he prepared for it. He described his training as being far less stressful on his body due to being able to focus solely on one combat sports discipline, and he had an easier weight cut as he competed at 155 pounds, 10 pounds over the featherweight limit he fought at for the majority of his career.
Next, he wants to take a step back from thinking about fighting before deciding if he’ll step into the BKFC ring again.
“I had a really good time,” Mendes said. “My answer to that is this: Leading up to this, I was saying, I don’t know. ‘I don’t know if I’m gonna love this or I’m gonna hate it.’ I loved it, it was fun, that was really cool.
“But I want to spend some time with my family, so after the media interviews and media coverage for a while, I will just take a step back and examine my life. What am I doing? Am I being selfish basically wanting to get in there and compete? Is it possible ?”
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When asked if he leans towards another BKFC reservation, he said, “That’s right enough to say .”
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The UFC retains a contract hold on Mendes. It remains to be seen whether the UFC will allow Mendes to continue his career unassisted in the future. However, Mendes acknowledged that there’s also an outside chance he would consider fighting for the UFC again should promotion officials propose negotiating a new contract.
” I’m open to discussing, but it would need to be really high money,” Mendes stated. “Mainly because I just have some successful stuff going on outside the fight game, I feel good about life, and for me to really put all that stuff back on hold to get back in there and train full-time, it’s got to be worth it, for sure.”
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