Midnight Mania: ‘Money’ Making A Comeback?

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Three-time UFC title challenger Chad Mendes may not be done with combat sports just yet.

“Money” was a top-ranked Featherweight contender in the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and UFC for a long time. He went to absolute war with the likes of Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor in title fights, as well as taking out top names of his era like Ricardo Lamas and Cub Swanson. The heavy-handed wrestler retired from UFC competition in 2019 after a competitive loss to Alexander Volkanovski (who turned out to be pretty good), but his retirement didn’t last too long.

In 2022, Mendes returned to action under the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) banner. He won his first fight via knockout then lost a split-decision to Eddie Alvarez in the BKFC 2023 “Fight of the Year” (watch highlights). After the Alvarez loss in April 2023, Mendes returned to retirement … for a time?

On Tuesday (Jan. 7, 2025), Mendes posted to social media and hinted at a return to combat sports. “The big offers keep coming in and I’m still down to whoop some ass,” he wrote. “Something BIG just happened guys…. Stay tuned.”

There are several likely options. For one, BKFC could have come to Mendes with an offer he couldn’t refuse. Alternatively, Mendes explained that he was still under UFC contract while competing in bare knuckle, so there’s a chance he could fight again inside the Octagon. Finally, Global Fight League (GFL) has been offering contracts to lots of ex-UFC contenders, so maybe Mendes inked a new deal there.

One way or another, it sounds like the 39 year old isn’t done competing just yet.

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— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) January 7, 2025