Chad Mendes wants another opportunity to get his hands on championship gold.
The Team Alpha Male staple is only one fight removed from his last attempt to claim the UFC featherweight title, but his most recent performance solidified the fact that "Money" is still in elite form.
The Sacramento-based fighter and perennial contender destroyed fellow former title challenger Ricardo Lamas via first-round knockout when the two met in the main event at Fight Night 63 this past Saturday in Fairfax, Virginia.
While "The Bully" figured to be one of the toughest challenges of Mendes' career, the featherweight powerhouse answered the challenge with relative ease.
Mendes used his speed and power to make the difference as he caught Lamas with a big right hand in an early exchange that sent the Chicago native to the canvas. With his opponent on wobbly legs, Mendes' killer instinct took over as he poured on the offense until referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in to stop the fight.
While his victory at Fight Night 63 put Mendes back into the win column, he is also optimistic that it will carry him to another crack at the featherweight title.
A pair of high-profile fights on deck could serve to play a major factor in that equation, as Frankie Edgar is set to face Urijah Faber on May 16, and Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor are slated to handle their business at UFC 189 on July 11 in Las Vegas.
The former two-time title challenger will have to wait to see how things play out, but Mendes is more than ready for another shot at the featherweight crown.
He talked about his hopes for the next step at the post-fight press conference for Fight Night 63 this past Saturday:
I've been trying to figure out who I would fight after this, if I were to go out there and beat Ricardo. The only thing that makes sense in my mind is back for that title. We've just got to wait to see what happens with Aldo-McGregor and Frankie-Faber. So we'll see.
I'm kind of just in a weird spot right now.
...
I'm going to be watching the Frankie-Faber fight and the Aldo-McGregor fight very closely, just hoping that I can get back in there and fight for that title soon. And if that's not the case, if it's not too far off from being up there in the top-three or top-four, I'll probably take a fight. But like I said, I've got to talk to the UFC.
Although it will take a few moving parts falling into place for Mendes to be granted the next shot at the featherweight strap, there's no doubt he's within striking distance of that coming to fruition.
The 29-year-old Californian has been a dominant presence in the featherweight ranks since the division formed in 2011 and has steamrolled every opponent not named Jose Aldo that he's faced inside the Octagon.
Mendes has won eight of his 10 showings under the UFC banner, with six of those wins ending in finishes.
Furthermore, despite ultimately getting a notch in the loss column in his rematch with Jose Aldo at UFC 179 last October, Mendes picked up solid momentum and appreciation from the UFC fanbase as he took the Brazilian phenom to the wire in a five-round war in Brazil.
Mendes' performance against the dominant champion provided proof of an expanding skill set, and his knockout against Lamas was another sign of the progress he's making inside the cage. He wants to keep things rolling in that department and knows there is a limited amount of time for things to take shape in his mixed martial arts career.
Speaking with reporters at that same press conference, Mendes said he is aware of the ticking clock and wants to make the most of the time he has left competing inside the Octagon:
I don't want to sit out for another year. I only got one fight last year. I don't want to have another year of just one fight. I'm turning thirty this year. I'm probably only going to be doing this for another six, seven years, so I'm trying to make as much money as I can, getting in there and putting a pounding on my body. So you know, I'll have to talk to (the UFC).
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
