Report: Chad Mendes retires after UFC 232 loss to Alexander Volkanovski

Bloodyelbow.com

Entering UFC 232 with a big victory under his belt, Chad Mendes was hoping to put on a win streak against Alexander Volkanovski. Instead, it was Volkanovski who was able to extend his victory run in the UFC to six, ending the fight via second-round TKO and earning a Fight of the Night bonus to boot.

After a disappointing outcome, the Team Alpha Male fighter (18-5, with 10 wins by stoppage) apparently decided to end his professional mixed martial arts run.

The news was reported by journalist Farah Hannoun via Twitter.

Farah Hannoun@Farah_Hannoun

I can confirm that Chad Mendes has indeed decided to retire. Pretty surprised to hear this. He’s still a top level fighter imo. All the best to Chad in his future endeavors. Aldo/Mendes 2 is one of my all time fave fights. He’s been part of some great moments in this sport. 395 1:34 AM – Dec 31, 2018 Twitter Ads info and privacy 139 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy

A ten-year MMA veteran, Mendes made his UFC debut in 2011. After just two fights with the company, he was granted his first title shot against Jose Aldo at UFC 142 in early 2012, where he lost via first-round TKO.

He was able to work his way up the ladder with five consecutive wins, before being granted another shot at Aldo at UFC 179 in 2014. He was able to put on a much better performance this time around, but fell short in the judge’s scorecards earning a unanimous decision loss.

Mendes got his third title shot against Conor McGregor at UFC 189 in July 2015. After showing some promise for the first round and a half, he eventually lost steam and ended up being stopped late in the second round via TKO.

Currently situated at the number five spot in the official rankings, the 33-year-old Mendes last win was in July, when he defeated Myles Jury via first round TKO after a two and a half-year layoff. He also earned an extra $50,000 for Performance of the Night honors.