CHAD MENDES

ATTRIBUTES

OFFENSIVE SKILLS

DEFENSIVE SKILLS

ULTIMATE TECHNIQUES

RIGHT OVER HOOK

Level 2—Both Standing, Striking Range

“Money” wields a stiff right hook that has great speed and lands with heavy impact. Pound his opponents with these punishing hooks to rock them during striking exchanges.

DRIVING DOUBLE LEG TAKEDOWN

Level 3—Both Standing, Striking Range

Blast in with Mendes’s dominant double leg to drive his rival to the mat, then begin to work his crushing top game. This is one powerful double leg that’s tough to stuff.

LEFT/RIGHT HOOK

Level 2—Open Guard, Top

“Money” can work some devastating groundand- pound once he succeeds in bringing his opponent to the mat. Land these big hooks from Open Guard, Half Guard, or Mount until one manages to rock Chad’s rival.

STRENGTHS

• Wrestling

• Speed

• Training camp

Chad “Money” Mendes is a fantastic featherweight prospect who brings great speed, strength, and wrestling ability to bear against his opponents inside the Octagon.

Use his blistering hand speed to score on opponents in the stand-up game, throwing quick combinations and tagging rivals with swift counters during the exchange.

Box with opponents until they forget his real strength: a driving double leg takedown that all but guarantees Mendes will bring his rivals to the mat.

Once the action hits the floor, use his strong grappling ability to transition to dominant top position so he can bring down some of his furious ground-and-pound.

Land heavy hooks from Half Guard or Mount to punish the bottom opponent, and don’t give them a chance to catch their breath.

Push the pace with his excellent conditioning and fight hard to really work over opponents when you get them in a favorable position.

WEAKNESSES

• Footwork

• Kick defense

• Submissions

A rising featherweight contender, “Money” doesn’t have much in the way of weaknesses.

While his footwork leaves a little to be desired, Mendes more than makes up for this with his incredible striking speed—only elite-level kickboxers will be able to exploit this small weakness by keeping their distance and kicking away at his body and legs from the outside to slow his movements even further.

Given his strong control in the clinch and on the ground, striking with “Money” may well be the best way to handle him.

Just don’t get caught exchanging with him for long—his blazing hand speed means he’ll eventually connect with some big punches if you remain in front of him.

Keep to the outside and try to utilize kicks against Mendes, which have the greatest effect against him and can usually be landed from outside of his ideal countering range.