Chad Mendes issues statement after scoring a TKO victory in his BKFC debut: “I’m officially a bare knuckle boxer”

Former UFC star Chad Mendes has reflected on his successful bare-knuckle boxing debut at the weekend.

After weeks of anticipation, Chad Mendes finally made his return to the combat sports sphere for BKFC’s KnuckleMania 2 event on Saturday night. The wrestling machine-turned-striker was able to dominate opponent Joshuah Alvarez, eventually securing a TKO stoppage in the wake of several impressive knockdowns.

Mendes was expected to do well but even in his wildest dreams, the MMA veteran probably couldn’t have imagined things would go his way quite so emphatically.

After the result, Mendes took to social media in order to look back at his achievement.

 

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“What a crazy ride this athletic life has been! From wrestling at the age of 5, all the way up through college, to climbing my way up the UFC rankings, to now saying I’m officially a bare knuckle boxer….. Last night was a huge success! I can’t thanks my team @teamalphamalemma @joey_rodriguez916 @capitalstrengthperformance enough for all the hours of preparation and time away from your families to help me throughout this camp. Thank you @bkfcfamez for taking this fight. It was an honor sharing the ring with you! Thank you @bareknucklefc for this huge opportunity! Also huge congrats to being the number 4 most downloaded app last night! To the moon! Finally headed back home to my girls and couldn’t be happier. Thank you guys for all the kind words and support! It means the world to me!!”

Moving forward, it’ll be interesting to see what the 36-year-old does next.

Is there a chance we will see Chad Mendes return to mixed martial arts? If he opts to stay in BKFC, how far do you think the former UFC title challenger can go? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments, BJPENN Nation!