Chad Mendes fought Conor McGregor, Jose Aldo and Alexander Volkanovski – but one hit harder than them all
Chad Mendes dealt with some devastating power in his 11-year career, although he’s clear in his mind over who trumps them all.
Mendes, who currently competes under the Real American Freestyle (RAF) banner, retired from MMA following his 2018 defeat to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 232.
He contended for gold three times in Dana White‘s promotion, losing two battles to Jose Aldo for undisputed gold before being famously knocked out by Conor McGregor in an interim title fight.
However, after trying his hand at bare-knuckle boxing, the 40-year-old from California is still competing.
Mendes now finds himself settled at the first unscripted professional wrestling league, co-founded by the late Hulk Hogan, and was scheduled to return at RAF06 in Tempe, Arizona, this weekend.
He was booked to face former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson on the stacked card until an injury forced him to pull out.
The American has since been replaced by former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling, who competes on the card alongside MMA legends Henry Cejudo and Urijah Faber, No.1-ranked UFC lightweight Arman Tsarukyan, and Britain’s flyweight star Muhammad Mokaev.
Ahead of Mendes’ now-postponed match, he sat down with talkSPORT.com and reflected on his time at MMA’s summit.
Chad Mendes reveals hardest punch he ever received
Having spent almost two hours inside the Octagon over the course of his UFC spell, ‘Money’ had his mettle tested several times.
When asked who delivered the single hardest punch of his career, it was an old training partner outside of the cage that instantly came to mind.
“I’d say the hardest hitter I’ve ever trained with and been hit by is Josh Emmett by far,” Mendes responded after explaining that Aldo was, without doubt, the toughest opponent in his career.
“That dude’s probably one of the most explosive and powerful strikers, like punchers, that I’ve ever felt.
“At least for me personally, that’s who it is.”
The power of ‘CC0’
A fellow training partner at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California, Emmett has scored many monstrous knockouts in his career.
With a nickname inspired by the world of NFTs, ‘CC0’ earned his one and only UFC title shot to date following a five-fight win streak that included consecutive KOs over Michael Johnson and Mirsad Bektic.
Although he lost his eventual interim title fight to Yair Rodriguez, before being outpointed by current lightweight king Ilia Topuria, Emmett proved he was still at the peak of his powers in his last UFC win.
Just over two years ago, the American left Bryce Mitchell convulsing on the canvas with a right hand from hell at UFC 296.
The KO was widely recognised as the best of the year as it took just one shot for Emmett to knock Mitchell out cold with a punch that sounded like it came straight from a baseball bat.
Like Mendes, the 40-year-old is still competing and will contest his next fight on March 14 in Las Vegas against highly-touted prospect Kevin Vallejos.
No stopping for Mendes
Mendes, who was thankful he was never on the receiving end of one of Emmett’s vicious KOs, offered an insight into why that might be as he explained why he is still pursuing a career in combat sports at RAF.
“I’m in for the long haul,” Mendes said.
“As long as my body holds up with RAF, I signed a five-match deal with those guys, and if we hit that and they want to do more, I’m all for it.
“This is an awesome way for me to help grow the sport and this brand and this platform, which I think is awesome for that next generation.
“I got two little girls that I want to jump into the wrestling world, so who knows, maybe down the road, if things are still going big, that could be something they’re competing in.
“As far as the rest of my stuff, I have multiple businesses I’ve started. I have a hunting and fishing guide service, I own a marketing company, and I just basically put a ton into that stuff throughout the year.
“I’m a two-girl dad, which is a handful in itself right there. That right there is a full-time job!”
“But I love my girls and am going to be just spending as much family time outside of all the business stuff that I got going on and then also competing with the RAF and keeping that stuff alive too.
“So got my hands on a lot of things, but man, it’s all absolutely love to do so—no complaints.”
RAF06 takes place this Saturday in Tempe, Arizona, headlined by Cejudo vs Faber in front of a sold-out crowd at Mullett Arena.
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