Chad Mendes explains decision to retire following loss to Eddie Alvarez at BKFC 41: “I had no desire”

Chad Mendes decided to end his combat sports career after suffering a split decision loss to Eddie Alvarez at BKFC 41.

Mendes (1-1 BKFC, 18-5 MMA) and Alvarez (30-8 and two No Contests MMA, 1-0 BKFC) collided in the co-headliner of Saturday’s Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship event in Denver, Colorado.

‘Money’ was making his second appearance for the sans gloves promotion. His debut had of course resulted in a fourth-round TKO win over Joshuah Alvarez at KnuckleMania 2 (see that here).

As for Eddie Alvarez, the Philadelphia native was returning to combat sports action for the first time since April of 2021 last night. The former UFC lightweight title holder had most previously competed under the ONE Championship banner, suffering a defeat to Ok Rae Yoon.

Mendes and Alvarez went the distance yesterday, thrilling fight fans with an action-packed five-round affair. Chad earned the first knockdown of the fight, dropping Eddie in the second round. Alvarez would return the favor in Round 3 and they later exchanged knockdowns in the fifth and final round (see those here).

After their razor close war, it came as no surprise to see that the judges were split in their decision. Eddie Alvarez wound up getting the nod with scorecards of 47-46, 46-47 and 47-46.

Immediately following the result, Chad Mendes announced that he was officially retiring from combat sports.

“I’ve been going back and forth with this,” Mendes told reporters at the BKFC 41 post-fight news conference when asked about his decision to retire (h/t MMAJunkie). “Obviously I retired from the UFC back in 2018, and I was honestly done. I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into a few businesses and just spending the family quality time that I love doing.

“I had no desire (to fight), but something like this came up, and obviously the pay is really good, and it’s something that’s new, which kind of excited me, so I did it. I was done after that first one, but then they dangled somebody like this dude (Alvarez) in front of me, so I was like, ‘All right, I’ll do one more. This could be the retirement fight.’”

Chad Mendes continued:

“I just don’t need to be doing this sh*t anymore. It’s fun, but I feel like at this point I’m just being selfish. I’ve got a solid family that loves me, and I’ve got other things in the works that I pour my heart and soul into to be successful at. But man, that was one hell of a fight.”

Mendes fought for the undisputed UFC featherweight title two times during his MMA career, suffering defeats in both of those occasions at the hands of Jose Aldo. ‘Money’ also competed for the interim featherweight title on short notice at UFC 189 but was ultimately defeated by Conor McGregor.

What was your favorite moment from the career of Chad Mendes?