Chad Mendes hasn’t lost his desire to compete, but it needs to be worth it in order for him to continue past BKFC 41.
Mendes takes on Eddie Alvarez in the co-main event Saturday at 1STBANK Center in Denver. The main card streams on FITE TV with a $49.99 price point.
Mendes, a multiple-time UFC title challenger, said he’s still in top form but admits one of his main motivations is money.
“Money talks big time,” Mendes told MMA Junkie Radio. “Obviously I feel like I’m still in my prime. I’m not to the point where I’m like, ‘Man, I’m falling behind here’ and starting to slack in sparring and getting beat up or anything like that. I’m still doing really well. I have no health issues, knock on wood right now, but obviously I feel like we’re all playing with fire every time we step in there. … I have a family and for me, it’s like this stuff isn’t a necessity anymore.
“The money that I get from fighting isn’t something I absolutely need. I have some other businesses that are successful and doing really well. (They) keep me busy, and they’re things that I absolutely love to do, but it is nice to still compete. I still have the drive and hunger to do it. Just at the time with the UFC, in my mind the money wasn’t worth it. The money’s worth it now from the last two fights I’ve had with this organization.”
Mendes, 37, retired from MMA in 2019 before signing a multifight deal with BKFC in 2021. He teased retirement again in a recent interview, but as long as he isn’t taking too much damage and earns big paychecks, he could take one more fight after Alvarez.
“I said this might be the last one. I don’t know,” Mendes said. “We’ll just kind of see how this goes. If I go out there, and it’s a very successful fight for me and I don’t take a ton of damage and the money’s right and the opponent’s right, then maybe I’ll do one more. I don’t know. But I’m kind of taking it fight by fight. I wasn’t honestly sure if I was going to do another one after that first one.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for BKFC 41.
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