UFC Fight Night 103's Augusto Mendes doesn't care if he's entering loser-leaves-town bout

The last time Augusto Mendes stepped into the octagon, he was an undefeated bantamweight. Then he fought Cody Garbrandt.

“I’m still bothered that loss,” Mendes told MMAjunkie. “I truly believe that I can defeat him. He’s a very good opponent. I knew that when I accepted the fight, even though he wasn’t champion at the time. He was chasing his title shot.

“I knew I could defeat him. I only had five days to get ready. He faced someone who wasn’t at his best.”

Mendes pines for a rematch with Garbrandt, who this past month dethroned Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight title at UFC 207. But it’s going to be a long time before that’s a remote possibility, so he’s moving on.

“(Garbrandt) deserves full credit,” Mendes said. “He won our fight. He’s very tough – no wonder he’s the champion today. But no matter who I face, I always believe I can win. I believe in my potential.”

On Sunday Mendes (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) returns to the octagon after suffering a knockout loss to Garbrandt this past February at UFC Fight Night 83. He takes on Frankie Saenz (11-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC), a tough fighter who’s tasted defeat in his past two bouts. The two headline the FS1-televised prelims in advance of the main card on the same channel at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix.

Mendes might have marched back to work sooner, but his body had other ideas.

“I had knee surgery three months or so after my last fight,” he said. “I tore my ACL. It required reconstruction. It’s the same procedure Dominick Cruz had done twice. I couldn’t train for more than six months. My upcoming fight will be exactly eight months after my surgery. I was idle for six months and training for two.”

Both fighters are in dire need of a win, but Mendes said he’s unconcerned about the consequences of a possible loss.

“I don’t worry about what the UFC may choose to do,” he said. “If they let one of us go, that’s their prerogative. I’ll show up to do my job. If I win or if I lose, that’s fine. The UFC can decide if they want to keep me. I’m showing up to win.”

Prior to signing with the promotion, Mendes had won six straight as a professional and amateur. Although he fell short of winning the title in the now-defunct Legacy FC promotion, which recently merged with RFA to create LFA, he earned finishes in all of his bouts, leaning on his skills as a decorated submission artist in five of his wins.

While Saenz has struggled in his past two bouts, he’s done so against top-tier competition. After winning three straight, he fell short against two former WEC champs: Urijah Faber and Eddie Wineland.

“It’s a good fight for me, so I can show that I can go far in our weight class,” Mendes said. “I plan to shut him down like no one else has. My plan is to win so I can be in the rankings.”

Now that Mendes knows where the bar is set in the bantamweight division, he can set a goal to reach it.

For more on UFC Fight Night 103, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.