Mendes Set For BKFC Debut On Feb. 19

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight title contender, Chad Mendes, is trading his gloves for, well, no gloves. According to a post on his Instagram account, “Money” is set to make his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) debut on Feb. 19, 2022.

Per MMA Junkie, Mendes will be facing off against Joshua Alvarez in a lightweight scrap, though the fight has yet to be made official by Mendes or the promotion.

Mendes retired from mixed martial arts (MMA) in July 2019. Prior to hanging up his gloves, the Team Alpha Male (TAM)-trained fighter had been on a bit of a slump, losing four of his last six fights inside the Octagon, including defeats to Conor McGregor, Frankie, Edgar, and Jose Aldo.

“Money” last competed at UFC 232 in Dec. 2018, a second-round technical knockout (TKO) loss to current featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. That would be the last time the hard-hitting wrestler stepped foot inside the Octagon.

Mendes is just the latest UFC fighter to make the jump into BKFC, joining the likes of Joey Beltran, Joe Riggs, Rachael Ostovich, and Paige VanZant. The Feb. 19 “KnuckleMania” event will also feature another former UFC contender as Mike Perry will face off against Juliane Lane.