Picture Credit: Twitter
Two of the biggest MMA stars, Chad Mendes and Eddie Alvarez delivered a fight for the ages in the co-main event of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) 41 from the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. Both fighters were worn out at the end of the gruelling five rounds, but it was the American Eddie Alvarez, who was declared the winner by a split decision.
In the immediate aftermath of the match, Chad Mendes announced that he will be retiring from all combat sports. The American was left with a gruesome injury caused by Eddie Alvarez around the right side of his face after the bout as well.
During the post-fight chat on FITE TV, Chad Mendes talked about hanging up his boots and thanked the fans for all their support throughout his professional fighting career. He said, “Hey, I just wanted to say thank you to all the fans. This has been a life long career for me. I started wrestling at the age of five years old. Never took a year off all the way through this now, so I'm officially hanging'em up tonight guys. Thank you very much for all the awesome memories throughout my UFC career coming into Bare Knuckle.”
For this epic encounter, Conor McGregor, the former UFC double-champion in featherweight and lightweight division, was also in attendance. He was seen soaking in the blows landed by Mendes and Alvarez, while shouting instructions to both fighters at times too.
When Helen Yee, one of the sports reporters, questioned both athletes whether they heard Conor McGregor yelling at them during their bout. Chad Mendes mentioned that he heard him once at the end only. Meanwhile, Eddie Alvarez responded, “I thought he was yelling for me and I did something and I said, 'Good job' to him but I heard that he was telling him (Chad Mendes) stuff. So, I think he was playing both sides during the fight.”
