Eddie Alvarez's debut in the bareknuckle boxing world was as advertised.
“The Underground King” went to war with fellow UFC veteran Chad Mendes in a back-and-forth battle over five rounds that saw both fighters land two knockdowns. In the end, Alvarez did enough to earn himself a split decision win in the co-main event of BKFC 41 back in April.
Official Result: Eddie Alvarez def. Chad Mendes by split decision.
Following an excruciating wait for the judges to render their verdict, the fight was ruled a split decision - in favor of Eddie Alvarez.
Here's a breakdown of how the fight unfolded:
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Alvarez had preached accuracy over power ahead of his debut on Saturday, and showed that early, staying patient as the pair looked to find their range. Mendes surged forward, firing a right hand, and Alvarez welcomed the challenge. Both men connected, and things opened up a little as the final minute arrived.
As the second round got started, Mendes unloaded a nasty left hand that dropped Alvarez to the canvas for the first knockdown in the fight. Alvarez got back to his feet for the mandatory eight count as he looked for a fresh restart in the center of the ring.
Round two saw Alvarez dropped early, though he immediately popped back up and gave a thumbs up. Mendes, rather than chase a finish, chose to take his time, and they squared off again. A couple of exchanges followed; Alvarez fanned on an uppercut that had some mustard on it.
It was Eddie Alvarez landing a knockdown of his own early in the third. Like Alvarez a round prior, Mendes was right back up.
Round four arrived with the fight still very much up for grabs. Mendes landed his jab. Eddie found a home for his right hook. As the round progressed, Mendes was walking down the former UFC champ, with Alvarez looking to counter.
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Alvarez pressed the action in round five, leading the dance and getting off several combos. Mendes had some success with counters, but circled out of harm’s way. The next exchange saw them tie up; the ref came in to separate them, and Alvarez was warned for punching off the break. Alvarez really turned up the heat in the final minute, just winging lefts and rights as Mendes covered up!
With the fight facing into the fifth and final round, Alvarez was starting to wear the damage on his face with blood trickling down from a cut over his eye as well as gushing from his nose. With the fight potentially slipping away, Alvarez opened up with a flurry of punches that overwhelmed Mendes as he fell to the canvas. It took Mendes a moment to get back to his feet but as soon as the fight restarted, he launched a left-right combination that wobbled Alvarez as he sat down for a split second, which the referee ruled as a knockdown to even the score between the fighters.
When it was over, the judges returned a split decision with Alvarez getting a pair of 47-46 scorecards with the third official handing down a 47-46 card for Mendes. That was still enough for Alvarez to get the win in his BKFC debut.
After a brief break, Mendes returned to the ring to announce his retirement.
Here are some quotes from the fighters after the fight:
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“This is a pleasure,” Alvarez said. “Chad is a f****** dog. I did not expect that. The man hits crazy hard. This is a dog fight in here. I’m convinced right now this is going to be the best sport in the world. BKFC is here to stay.”
A battle through all five rounds, Mendes offered congratulations to Alvarez afterwards before announcing that Saturday night would serve as the final fight of his career.“Eddie is a freaking beast. Hats off to Eddie,” Mendes said. “I just wanted to say thank you to all the fans. I’m officially hanging them up tonight.
BKFC41 Chad mendes vs Eddie Alvarez
Fight Highlights
In his first bare-knuckle fight, Alvarez was looking to measure his shots while throwing out a long jab to employ his reach advantage but Mendes quickly answered back with some powerful punches of his own. While Mendes had a cut opened under his right eye, he blasted Alvarez with a huge right hand that cracked the former UFC lightweight champion on the chin.
Alvarez finally got his payback with a short shot that briefly dropped Mendes to the ground, although the veteran featherweight bounced up almost out of frustration that he got caught by the punch. As he continued, Alvarez was still pawing ahead with his jab while Mendes was ducking his head, exploding forward and launching huge hooks.
Chad Mendes' Accomplishments
Mendes wrestled for California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo, California. He finished his career with an overall record of 64-14 and twice earned NCAA All-American honors at 125 pounds as a sophomore, then 141 pounds as a senior.
Mendes faced Anthony Morrison, replacing an injured Mackens Semerzier, on April 24, 2010 at WEC 48. Mendes faced Javier Vazquez on November 11, 2010 at WEC 52 and defeated him via unanimous decision. Mendes was able to utilize his improved striking to complement his superior wrestling to dictate where he wanted to take the action.
On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Following UFC 129, Dana White mentioned in the post-fight press conference that Mendes may have a shot at the title against UFC featherweight champion José Aldo.
A rescheduled bout with Guida took place on August 31, 2013 at UFC 164. After a close first and second round, Mendes finished Guida via TKO by punches in the third round and became the first man to ever finish Guida by strikes.
A rematch with José Aldo was expected to take place on August 2, 2014, as the event headliner at UFC 176 for the UFC Featherweight Championship. However, in early July, Aldo pulled out of the bout with an injury. The rematch with Aldo was subsequently rescheduled and took place on October 25, 2014, at UFC 179. He became the first man to knock down Aldo dropping him with a left hand in the first round.
José Aldo was expected to face Conor McGregor on July 11, 2015 at UFC 189 for the undisputed UFC Featherweight Championship. However, in the days leading up to the fight, Aldo pulled out of the bout because of a rib injury he sustained in training.
On June 10, 2016, the UFC announced that Mendes had been informed of a potential doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition test conducted by USADA. Mendes responded, "I didn't do my homework and that was a big mistake.
Mendes' nickname, "Money", is shortened from his initial nickname, "Money Shot", the latter of which was suggested by training partner Urijah Faber. When asked how he got the nickname, Mendes stated that during his early days of MMA training right after graduating college, he had no knowledge of stand-up fighting, and one time, when he went for a takedown after taking a punch from one his training partners, they would claim that his "shot is money", hence the nickname stuck.
Mendes was charged with battery for his alleged involvement in a bar fight on July 29, 2012 in his hometown of Hanford, California.
Awards and Recognition
- Knockout of the Night (One time) vs.
- Fight of the Night (Two times) vs.
- Performance of the Night (Two times) vs.
- 2014: Ranked #2 Fight of the Year vs.
- 2014 Fight of the Year vs.
- 2014 Fight of the Year vs.
- 2014 Fight of the Year vs.
- 2014 Fight of the Year vs.
- 2014 October Fight of the Month vs.
- Fight of the Night (One time) vs.
- Fight of the Year (2023) (vs.
Event History
- UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs.
- The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs.
- UFC Fight Night: Mendes vs.
- For the UFC Featherweight Championship.
- Fight of the Night.
- UFC on Fox: Johnson vs.
- UFC on Fox: Henderson vs.
- UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs.
- Aldo vs.
- Aldo vs. Mendes vs.
- Welterweight (165lb) bout.
- Fight of the Night.
You can watch Alvarez's thrilling BKFC debut win in the video above.
Alvarez returns to the ring this Friday, as he takes on Mike Perry in the main event of BKFC 56. The event takes place at Maverik Center in Salt Lake City. The pay-per-view streams on the BKFC app and other streaming platforms.
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