‘Money’ Admits He Wasn’t Ready In First Aldo Bout

“I honestly believe, since that first fight, that I am a completely different fighter. Back then, I pretty much relied about 90-percent on my wrestling. Taking that fight, I probably wasn’t ready for that fight. I think I had a couple of fights in the UFC, still trying to figure myself out as a fighter. I went in there, took the fight, you just don’t turn those fights down in this sport. But, I felt that I was winning the first round or at least staying close with him. I obviously got caught. It’s definitely something I’m going to pay attention to. There is a lot of studying I’m going to be doing. I feel like this fight will be a completely different fight.”

“This is my chance. This is my opportunity. I’m going to train harder than I’ve ever trained before for any fight. I’m going to get in there looking to take Aldo’s head off. I’m going to be smart. I’m going to mix up my wrestling. I’m going to put him on the mat. This is a fight that I need to be able to mix up very well, both wrestling and my striking. Obviously my cardio is going to be on point. I’m going to be doing a lot of stuff I did in the Guida fight. Cardio was something that I really paid attention to in that camp and I felt like that was the best shape I’d ever been in for any fight.”

During a recent stint on ‘The MMA Hour’, Chad Mendes discussed his first bout with Jose Aldo and the upcoming rematch set for UFC 176.

Will the outcome be different?