Chad Mendes Retires from Combat Sports Following BKFC 41 Defeat

Chad
Mendes is stepping away from combat sports for good.

The former UFC featherweight contender called it a career following
a loss to Eddie
Alvarez in the BKFC 41 co-main event on Saturday night. Mendes

announced his retirement from mixed martial arts in 2019 but
later signed with BKFC, where he split a pair of appearances.

“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 said at 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.’”

Mendes, who is 37 years old, believes now is the time to focus on
family and other endeavors.

“I just don’t need to be doing this s—t anymore,” Mendes said.
“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.”

Mendes went 18-5 as a pro in MMA, with victories over the likes of
Ricardo
Lamas, Clay Guida,
Darren
Elkins and Cub Swanson
during his tenure. He exited the UFC upon losing four of his final
six bouts.