UFC on FOX 9 results, photos: Chad Mendes wins fifth straight, tops Nik Lentz

SACRAMENTO – Chad Mendes continued his blitz through the UFC’s featherweight division, and may have punched his ticket back to another shot at the title. But it certainly looked different this time around than his previous four victories.

Mendes dominated Nik Lentz on Saturday, winning for the fifth straight time since losing to champ Jose Aldo nearly two years ago. He did so with takedowns in every round – but on the ground, did little with the advantageous positions and grinded out a decision victory.

The featherweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC on FOX 9 event at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento. It aired on FOX following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and MMAjunkie.

Mendes landed early against Lentz and put him in a lot of trouble. Lentz managed to survive the initial onslaught, though, and delivered a kick to the body that bought him some time. But soon after, Mendes clipped him again. Lentz moved forward with an uppercut, but Mendes planted him to the canvas with a takedown. Back on the feet a minute later, Mendes landed a right, then a left behind it. But with 90 seconds left, Mendes again landed a takedown. Lentz wanted a guillotine choke from the bottom, but Mendes slipped it. Mendes let Lentz up with 45 seconds left and quickly drilled him with two punches, then sat him back down with his third takedown of the round.

Lentz tried to put something together in the second round, but Mendes seemed to slip most of his best punches. Mendes’ frequency of striking dropped significantly early in the second. Mendes even looked like he might be tiring midway through the fight, but he landed his fourth takedown, though like the three in the first round, he didn’t deliver much offense on the canvas. His fifth takedown came seconds later, but again he did nothing from the top position.

Lentz tried to get on the offensive in the third, likely knowing he’d need a finish to win. He kicked to Mendes body a few times, then stuffed a takedown attempt against a visibly tiring Mendes. Mendes landed his eighth takedown of the fight, but back up, Lentz landed a left hand that backed Mendes up. A flying knee from Mendes hit Lentz in the body, and Mendes went after a guillotine choke on the ground. But he couldn’t get the finish and had to settle for the win on points. He took the fight with a pair of 30-27s and a 29-28.

“I had a bad sinus infection about four weeks ago and I thought it had cleared, but maybe a week ago it came back and I really felt it during this fight,” Mendes said. “Basically, after the first round, my lungs felt heavy, but I just had to power through it. I hit Lentz hard, about as hard as any guy I have ever fought. He kept bouncing back, however – I have to give him credit there. I don’t really like the guy but were not in the cage to be friends. With this win, I am definitely the No. 1 contender at 145 pounds. There is no doubt in my mind.”

Mendes (16-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) won for the fifth straight time since losing a featherweight title shot to Jose Aldo nearly two years ago. Lentz (24-6-2 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) had a three-fight streak snapped and lost for the first time at featherweight.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on FOX 9 results include:

• Chad Mendes def. Nik Lentz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Joe Lauzon def. Mac Danzig via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Ryan LaFlare def. Court McGee via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Edson Barboza def. Danny Castillo via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
• Bobby Green def. Pat Healy via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Zach Makovsky def. Scott Jorgensen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Sam Stout def. Cody McKenzie via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Abel Trujillo def. Roger Bowling via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:35
• Alp Ozkilic def. Darren Uyenoyama via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 9, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on-site in Sacramento.