ESPN Mixed Martial Arts

Mike Pierce has reached that defining moment in his relationship with Joe Silva, matchmaker for the UFC.

Apparently, wins (Pierce has nine in the UFC) haven’t caught Silva’s attention. Neither have finishes (two in his last three fights). It’s time to try beer.

“Maybe I need to get a big pitcher of beer for Joe and sit down and hash this out,” Pierce told ESPN.com. “No, it’s just one of those things where I have to keep doing what I’m doing until they can’t ignore me anymore.”

Pierce (17-5), who faces Rousimar Palhares at UFC Fight Night 29 next week in Sao Paulo, Brail, wants a fight that matters. The kind of fight that breaks you into the Top 10.

He holds a lifetime UFC record of 9-3. All three losses were by close decision to highly ranked opponents. The split decision loss to Josh Koscheck in February 2012? Pierce says he “clearly” won that.

Following his last victory, a TKO finish over David Mitchell in the second round at UFC 162 in Las Vegas, a photo was taken of Pierce smiling toward Silva, with his hands at his sides turned upward, like -- Hey Joe, can I get a big fight now?

What he got was Palhares (14-5), who is on a 2-fight losing streak and dropping to welterweight for the first time. Pierce, meanwhile, has won four in a row.

How does Pierce, 33, feel about this matchup leading into the fight? ESPN.com asked him, among other things.

ESPN: What was your first reaction to hearing you were fighting Palhares?

Pierce: I thought it was kind of funny because if you look back on my career, there have been a lot of guys the UFC has thrown at me where it was their last chance at doing something. If they didn’t do something, they either got released or would drop a weight class or something. It’s kind of like another one of those situations. He’s lost twice in a row and is dropping to 170. I’ve dealt with guys before who have dropped from 185 and it didn’t go their way.

ESPN: Why do you think the UFC likes to book you against that type of opponent?

Pierce: Man, your guess is as good as mine. I’ve done some things in the sport. I’ve beat some tough guys and I’ve had real close calls with some guys that are fighting for the title real soon. It does blow my mind as to why. I can’t quite answer or fully understand it.

ESPN: That kind of matchmaking starting to bother you?

Pierce: Of course, I’m p---ed off. I want to start getting those main card fights against notable guys. Palhares has fought some tough guys. He’s got a little bit of credence to his name but I want to start working my up. This guy is coming off two losses and I’m on a 4-fight win streak. Typically, they don’t match up guys like that.

ESPN: Have you complained to the UFC about it?

Pierce: I haven’t had too much interaction with Joe Silva. I’ve had brief words with him. He’s not a huge fan of most people who smash guys up against the fence and grind on them, hit them on the side, that sort of stuff -- which, I get. That’s not exciting. He’s like, “I don’t care if it’s a submission, a TKO or a knockout. Look for finishes.” I get that, but it’s hard to do that sometimes when a guy is fresh or you have two skilled fighters. It’s hard to catch them sleeping. And I have had two good finishes in my last three fights.

ESPN: What are your thoughts on Palhares’ style? He has a history of going real deep on submission attempts in the Octagon.

Pierce: Well yeah, there was that one clear, obvious one where he held it when the referee told him to let go and he got fined by a commission (UFC 111). Then recently, he tested positive for elevated testosterone levels (UFC on FX 6), so this guy is definitely a cheat. There’s no surprise. He’ll do anything to win because he’s either desperate or an (a------). I’m not too concerned about that. I come in expecting he’s going to be mean, try to be a bully, try to cheat -- I have to deal with it.

ESPN: The tag “underrated” has started to follow you. You agree with it?

Pierce: Whenever the media does mention me it’s always as, “the most underrated welterweight.” I thoroughly agree with that. I think for whatever reason, people overlook me, but I don’t think the fighters do. I think the fighters in the welterweight division think, ‘That’s not really a guy I want to fight.’

ESPN: You’ve had close losses to Johny Hendricks and Koscheck. You ever think about those? Like, if one judge had seen it different, your entire career changes?

Pierce: I only think about them when guys interview me and bring it up. No, I think about it from time to time. Had things gone my way, of course things would be a little different but that’s how it goes when you have judges who don’t see what everybody else sees. Especially with the Koscheck fight -- I clearly won that fight. I won it on paper. I won it visually to everybody watching except for the judges it seems like. At the end of the day, those three judges get to make that decision and they didn’t do a good job that night I believe -- but you’ve got to look forward.

Stream-of-consciousness-style thoughts on Jon Jones versus Alexander Gustafsson, followed by a light heavyweight edition of Pretenders and Contenders. Let’s go.

I scored the title fight in favor of Gustafsson 48-47. I gave him the first three rounds, Jones the final two.

After the fight, I posted on Twitter that Jones was being packed in a stretcher for the hospital, while Gustafsson was good enough to conduct interviews. Many followers jumped on that as an opportunity to point out Gustafsson had been robbed, since Jones was in far worse shape. I get it, but that’s not how you score a fight.

Even though I had it for Gustafsson, I’m happy Jones won -- if I’m allowed to say that. The most conclusive rounds of the bout, I thought, were the fourth and fifth for Jones, which also happen to be the “championship” rounds. Jones basically refused to lose when it really mattered.

The best moments were in the fourth round. That has to be Round of the Year. I remember seeing, literally, blood from Jones’ facial cut flying in the air when Gustafsson hit him. Midway through the round, it almost looked like Jones was about to go down. The crowd was going nuts.

Then Jones looked at the clock. And maybe I’m totally wrong on this, but I bet if you asked him about it today he might not even remember doing it. It was just built in -- the way some ninja spy might subconsciously, without knowing it, remember the exits of a building or something. Busted up, swollen, exhausted -- something inside Jones said “Look at the clock; OK, 90 seconds left in a must-win round, throw the spinning elbow, stay on him.” I don’t want to get too dramatic, but come on. That’s crazy.

I haven’t watched it a second time, but sitting here days later, I’m willing to say that was the best fight in UFC history -- surpassing Mauricio Rua versus Dan Henderson and Frankie Edgar versus Gray Maynard II.

I also see it as the one that solidifies Jones as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He sort of inherited the spot (in my eyes) after Anderson Silva lost to Chris Weidman, but he really owned it here. Had Silva knocked out Weidman in the first round this year, I think I would still rank Jones ahead of him after the Gustafsson fight. He went to the brink of defeat against a very good opponent who basically forced him to fight his fight, and still left with his arms raised.

We knew about his skills, but now that we know about his heart, it’s virtually impossible to pick against him. But let’s look at the division real close and see.

Really talented fighters with no chance: Ryan Bader, Rashad Evans, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Rua. All four have long roads to even get to Jones. Three of them have already lost to him. Rua appears to me, at 31, pretty much done when it comes to winning elite-level fights. A hard realization, but a realization nevertheless. Bader has plenty of career left, but there’s really no reason to think a second fight against Jones would go any different than the first. On Evans, I know he was the only title contender to go the distance before Gustafsson did, but that grudge match was every bit as one-sided as the fights Jones has finished and Evans hasn’t looked great since.

The athlete: Phil Davis. Davis is more than just an athlete, but I call him this because it’s still his best quality -- at least in a fight against Jones. The problem is, he won’t outwrestle Jones for five rounds. It won’t happen. Jones is a good enough wrestler with good enough intelligence to not let that kind of game plan beat him. You hear this sometimes about great fighters; it’s not really a game plan that will necessarily beat them. You have to be capable of beating them in every area on that one given night. Gustafsson almost did that. Davis, even on his best night, can’t be better than Jones.

The old man and the right hand: Dan Henderson. I would not count Henderson out completely in a Jones fight for three reasons. It’s possible he could defend the takedowns, at least early. He’s crafty at getting inside. His right hand can kill a mule. But yes, I will admit it’s a long, long, looooong shot. It’s going to be very difficult for him to get to Jones and if he did, Jones could probably wear him out pretty quickly, take the right hand out of the equation, and finish him before the end of the second round.

The Olympian: Daniel Cormier. Everyone seems to be putting all eggs in the Daniel Cormier basket, completely ignoring the fact that (A) we don’t know whether he can make the weight; (B) we don’t know what he’ll look like if he can make the weight. You can also add in (C) we don’t know whether he’ll beat Roy Nelson. As much as the UFC’s “Height and Reach” marketing ploy was poked fun at heading into UFC 165, truth is, we saw that having size sure doesn’t hurt in a fight against Jones. Cormier is 5-foot-11, with a 72.5 reach. He’s the only real hope at holding Jones down, but he’s at a huge disadvantage on the feet.

The only two, but the best two: Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira. Everyone basically acted like the hardest part was over for Jones at 205 pounds. He beat all the former champs, after all. What challenge could the lesser-known Swede and Brazilian possibly pose? After the whole Silva-Weidman fiasco we really should have known better. Confident, hungry, well-rounded challengers can’t be dismissed. These two have never held the belt, like most of the other men Jones already fought. They are in their athletic primes. They are true light heavyweights. As awesome as Jones has been, he’s never really shown one-punch knockout power. These two are big and athletic enough to stay upright, take a Jones elbow and respond with effective offense. Jones really is impossible to pick against right now, but if you’re willing to do it at 205 pounds, these are your only options.

A rematch between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson has officially been placed on hold. The next time Jones enters the Octagon he will defend his belt against hard-hitting Glover Teixeira.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the news Wednesday night to ESPN.com.

While many fans will frown at this decision -- understandably so, considering the memorable performance Jones and Gustafsson put on at UFC 165 in Toronto -- it’s the right one.

Though a large number of fans are sure to accuse Jones of ducking Gustafsson, the criticism will rapidly diminish should both survive their next opponents. Afterward, the highly anticipated rematch will immediately get placed on UFC’s fight docket; Jones, more than Gustafsson, will demand it.

“I said before the [Gustafsson] fight my sights were set on breaking the record,” Jones said, referring to the UFC mark he set for consecutive successful light heavyweight title defenses, which currently sits at six. “I want to crush the record. I want to beat the record so bad it can never be broken [again].

“I’m going to fight Glover and I will answer all critics about the Gustafsson fight. I will fight Gustafsson after I fight Glover. I won the fight but I look at it as a blemish on my record because some people think I didn't. I promise you, he will be next.”

Jones doesn’t have much of a choice but to fight Gustafsson, should he get past Teixeira. No matter how impressive a performance he puts on, it won’t erase the image of him nearly losing his title to the Swedish striker.

Jones won the fight against Gustafsson and all three judges scored it in his favor, as did a majority of eyewitnesses. But he looked vulnerable during a bout for the first time. Before facing Gustafsson, most viewed Jones as unbeatable at light heavyweight. That vision has since evaporated.

Make no mistake, Jones would love to recapture that aura of invincibility, but the only way to do that is with an impressive win over Gustafsson. Jones needs this fight, and he wants it.

There is, however, a huge risk in foregoing an immediate rematch: Teixeira is no pushover. He will be an underdog against Jones, but has the punching power and submission skills to pose a serious threat.

A Teixeira upset will suck the energy out of Jones-Gustafsson II. Even a Teixeira-Jones rematch would lack the prefight punch Jones-Gustafsson II presently enjoys.

Also keep in mind that Gustafsson is slated to fight at least once before getting a second shot at the 205-pound title. UFC officials have yet to determine who Gustafsson will face next, but it is reasonable to assume that a top-10 contender is in order.

And just like Jones, a Gustafsson victory isn't guaranteed. Putting Jones-Gustafsson II on hold is a huge risk, but it could prove well worth taking; the financial rewards are potentially too great.

If all goes accordingly, Jones and Gustafsson will get through their respective bouts victorious and unscathed, then the rematch is set. UFC can then begin promoting what should turn out to be its most lucrative pay-per-view event in history.

TORONTO -- The years of hard work and believing that one day he’d get a world title shot, even during difficult times, had finally come to fruition for TJ Grant.

He’d scaled the final hurdle on May 25 -- a first-round knockout of Gray Maynard. That victory, his fifth in a row, cemented Grant as the No. 1 lightweight contender. Next up: A title shot against then-UFC champion Benson Henderson.

Grant was ready and confident. He’d proven himself a worthy contender. This was his time and he was ready to claim what he always believed belonged to him -- the UFC lightweight championship belt.

But as is always the case with Grant, he wasn’t about to sit around and enjoy the spoils of his most recent accomplishment. Besides, his goal was never simply to land a title shot, Grant wants to be champion. He never takes shortcuts, and wasn’t about to start now. So he immediately headed back to the gym and began working on staying sharp and improving his skills.

There was Muay Thai and wrestling and some boxing. Then it was time to revisit jujitsu workouts. And that’s when Grant’s world turned upside down.

Two weeks after the biggest victory of his professional career, Grant was accidentally kicked in the head twice during a jujitsu training session. It truly was accidental, Grant says. There is no kicking in jujitsu.

A training partner’s foot caught Grant as he was trying to avoid a sweep. These things happen in sparring sessions sometimes, but this particular incident happened shortly after the Maynard fight. And Grant admits he got his bell rung in that contest, which likely caused the kick during training to do more damage.

It was later revealed that Grant suffered a concussion. He was forced to pull out of the Aug. 31 showdown with Henderson. former WEC titleholder Anthony Pettis replaced him.

Grant was devastated. He’d worked so hard to get to that point in his career, but he remained positive that, with rest, his opportunity would soon resurface. But just as he had come to grips with this setback, Grant began receiving attacks on his character.

He didn’t know any of his attackers personally. They conducted their verbal assaults online, accusing Grant of taking money from UFC officials to step aside in favor of Pettis. Anyone slightly familiar with Grant’s values knows he’d never do something of the sort. The accusations, however, pained Grant. And he was angered by it.

That, however, was just the beginning. After Pettis defeated Henderson, UFC officials again penciled Grant in as the top lightweight contender. He would fight Pettis for the title on Dec. 14 in Sacramento, Calif.

But who said lightning doesn’t strike twice. Another medical examination concluded that Grant would not likely be ready to fight in December. He’d made progress, but not enough to begin vigorous training. Grant was again pulled from a title bout.

And again haters went on the attack. But this time, Grant was prepared for the onslaught.

“At first I was heated, I was mad,” Grant told ESPN.com. “But now it’s actually hilarious. Since I pulled out of this fight [against Pettis] I’ve seen a couple of people write stuff and I just laugh. I mean I did just buy a new house. Maybe that’s because I got paid off, who knows. To me it’s a joke.

“I’m kind of numb to the whole situation. I’m just worrying about myself, and getting healthy. I don’t really care. I did what I had to do, I won five in a row. If I have to win another one to get a title shot, I will do that.

“If I get a title shot that will be awesome. But right now my No. 1 concern is getting healthy.”

Grant can taste the lightweight title and continues to believe his opportunity will come, sooner rather than later. He remains levelheaded. Grant does not intend to rush back into the gym until he is completely healed. Avoiding another setback is very high on his priority list.

But his patience is often tested. There is nothing easy about training for fights, but it pales in comparison to sitting around doing nothing. Inactivity is killing Grant. He has never experienced anything like it, and doesn’t want to go through this again.

It’s part of the healing process, but Grant doesn’t like it at all. He yearns for the day when he can return to physical contact. And he is slowly getting there. Grant has begun light workouts.

“I find that I have more injuries from sitting on the couch than from going to the gym and going through the grind,” Grant said. “Because my body is so used to being in shape and working all the time that when it’s not I get super tense and sore. I’m looking forward to getting back, though I am doing some light training now.”

Grant can’t say with certainty when he will actually return to the Octagon, but plans to keep a close on Pettis’ first UFC title defense against Josh Thomson. If his recovery continues going smoothly, Grant is hopeful of making his return early next year.

But he can’t make any guarantees. It’s one day at a time, and the first order of business is getting back in the gym to conduct full training. A giant smile forms on Grant’s face at the thought of returning to training camp. Grant knows when that time arrives, his sites will again be set on landing that elusive title shot.

“I really have no idea when I will return, I could be ready to fight in January,” Grant said. “But at the same time I haven’t been on the mats, I haven’t done any training for however long. So I have to get myself acclimated to training and doing all those things.

“I’ve never gone three months with literally no exercise. That’s a big change. But I am exercising now, which is helping to keep me sane. And that’s a good thing.

“I’m optimistic to get back and once I’m 100 percent, I’m training and I feel confident then we’ll ask the UFC to let’s get a fight.”

TORONTO -- Former champions Frank Mir and Alistair Overeem will fight for much more than relevancy in the heavyweight division when they meet Nov. 16 at UFC 167. Their futures with the promotion will be at stake: The loser is likely to be released.

UFC president Dana White made that clear Thursday during a news conference to promote UFC 165.

“Definitely,” White said when asked if this is a do-or-die bout for Mir and Overeem. “Yes, definitely!”

The revelation doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Mir, a former two-time UFC heavyweight titleholder (lineal and interim), has dropped three fights in a row. He was stopped in two of those losses via strikes.

Overeem, who entered the UFC as the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion, has lost two straight. In each defeat he was knocked out.

But the position taken by UFC officials results from something deeper than losing skids. Mir and Overeem are main-card fighters, which puts them on the higher end of the promotion’s pay scale. And if they aren't producing victories, they become financial liabilities.

If Mir falls short at UFC 167, the likelihood of no longer seeing him inside the Octagon will take some getting used to. All but two of his 24 professional mixed martial arts bouts have been held inside that cage. Mir is as much a part of UFC history as any fighter.

Overeem, on the other hand, has competed only three times under the promotion’s banner. But he came into the UFC with very high expectations -- and at the moment, he isn’t close to fulfilling them.

It didn’t start out that way. Overeem was impressive in his Octagon debut at UFC 141 -- knocking out former champion Brock Lesnar in the first round. The victory made Overeem the top contender and set up a May 2012 title showdown with then-heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos.

But the fight did not materialize after Overeem failed a prefight drug test and was denied a license to compete by the Nevada Athletic Commission. His testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio was 14-to-1.

Overeem would receive a Nevada fight license from the commission in January, clearing the way for a bout with Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156 in February. After winning the first two rounds, Overeem got knocked out in the third. It was the first loss of his current two-fight slide.

Confidence is such a big part of a fighter's success. And every mixed martial artist will mention it before stepping into a cage.

It's no different with UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and top contender Alexander Gustafsson. Both are beaming with confidence as they head into their UFC 165 title tilt Saturday night in Toronto.

But there is something less talked about by these two that is having a far greater impact on each man's psyche than confidence. It's their belief in divine intervention.

Jones and Gustafsson have fully prepared for the fight, with each speaking highly of his own training camp. Neither has a doubt that he is physically ready.

But being physically prepared isn't enough. Faith is proving to be key in determining the outcome of this fight.

Faith has guided Jones throughout his life. He points to his belief in God as the primary reason for his success inside the Octagon. And he is certain that God's plan for him as a mixed martial artist champion won't conclude Saturday night.

"I was praying the other night and thanking God, not only for what He's going to do in my life, in the future, but for what He has already done," Jones told ESPN.com. "Everyone wants to beat me, but my job is to continue to work very hard and pray -- that depends on God. The hard work -- that depends on me."

Gustafsson believes that becoming light heavyweight champion is his destiny. He doesn't mention God directly, but he believes Saturday night’s outcome has been ordained -- and he will be victorious.

"It's my time right now," Gustafsson said. "Everything happens for a reason. It's just my time; I feel it. Jon Jones is not winning this fight. I've never felt this good before -- physically, mentally."

While Gustafsson strongly believes fate is on his side, he hasn't taken anything for granted. His work during training camp was vigorous. Without offering specifics, Gustafsson spoke of doing things in this training camp that he'd never done before.

He says that every part of his game improved, and his training partners picked up the intensity during sparring sessions. Whatever we saw from Gustafsson in previous fights should be tossed away -- he will be a completely different and much better fighter Saturday night.

Jones won't know what hit him, according to Gustafsson. There is nothing the champion could have done to prepare for what he is about to experience in Toronto because he has never seen anything like this new Gustafsson.

"I've been pushing my body to a whole other level. I've been breaking records in camp," Gustafsson said. "I've been sacrificing too much and working too much to not win this fight. I'm taking that belt."

Despite Gustafsson's high level of confidence and faith, not many people are buying into it. He is the underdog, and you will be hard-pressed to find a person outside of Gustafsson's inner circle who expects him to defeat today's top mixed martial artist.

But Gustafsson couldn't care less what others think or believe. His mind is set. The hard work has been done. In his mind, his future as light heavyweight champion begins Saturday night. It's his destiny. At least, that's what Gustafsson believes.

"People are underestimating me. That's what they do," Gustafsson said. "Hopefully, Jon will do it, too. That's what I hope.

"But it doesn't matter to me, it doesn't matter what people think. The only thing that matters to me is this fight coming up and winning this fight. It’s the only thing that I’m caring about. I'm feeling comfortable. I'm feeling confident, I'm feeling great. I can't wait."

Neither can Jones. He has been down this road many times. Every opponent believes he has figured out the way to solve Jones. Gustafsson is just the latest to get his turn at bat.

Jones is a dominant champion. Not quite yet on the level of boxing's Floyd Mayweather Jr., but Jones is headed there. Like Mayweather, Jones has gotten to the point of being so dominant that fans are flocking to his fights in hopes of seeing him lose.

"That’s going to be the case in any situation where you have a dominant champion," Jones said. "People are going to want to see you fall, but I really don't focus on that. I focus on the fans who want to continue to see dominance -- how far can this guy go, how much better can he get? That’s why I fight."

In 2004, Eddie Wineland basically paid money to have his jaw broken.

A 10-year career in mixed martial arts is going to come with its share of highs and lows. Wineland, 29, hopes to enjoy his best moment in the cage this weekend, when he meets UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao at UFC 165 in Toronto.

If you want to talk about lows, though -- Wineland’s occurred during the winter of 2004, after he suffered a broken jaw in a loss to Brandon Carlson during a regional show promoted in Wisconsin.

Wineland remembers the hospital bills for his injury far surpassed his fight purse for that bout. In his mind, there was really no positive way to skew it. He was sipping meals through a straw -- and had paid money from his own pocket to do it.

"I quit in 2004 after I broke my jaw," Wineland told ESPN.com. "It wasn’t worth it to me anymore. I was fighting for $600. I had $15,000 in medical bills. The ends didn’t really meet there.

"I traveled four hours and ended up spending money to get my jaw broke."

“

I traveled four hours and ended up spending money to get my jaw broke.

” -- Eddie Wineland

The "quit" Wineland refers to didn’t last long. After attending several local shows in his home state of Indiana, the itch for combat returned in full force. By August 2005, Wineland was back in the cage in a submission win that evened his win-loss record.

It makes for a good story -- an athlete willing to stick with the brutality of the fight game, purely for the love of it. As Wineland points out, he never even considered fighting for a UFC title when he started. One didn’t exist in his weight class.

The strange part is, it feels like the good story is being relatively ignored.

Wineland (20-8-1) earned a shot at the interim belt with wins over ranked opponents Scott Jorgensen and Brad Pickett, but he's about as long as long shots come when it comes to his next fight.

Oddsmakers opened Barao (30-1) as a 7-1 favorite. That almost makes Wineland seem like a hurdle (a short one) for Barao to hop over, en route to a unifying title fight against Dominick Cruz, who is recovering from knee surgery, early next year.

The line on the fight, and the fact so much focus has surrounded Barao’s tag as an "interim" title, has not dampened Wineland's spirits. He believes Barao is the division's best, which makes his belt more significant than the one Cruz holds.

"He does everything well," Wineland said. "You don’t get to the be the No. 1 guy if you’re just OK at things.

"I think Renan is the No. 1 guy in the division. He's defended the belt and he's the one fighting. If I win, I get a belt. That makes me a champion, too. It if it's interim, it's interim. It still makes me a champion."

For his part, Barao says he's not ignoring Wineland and promises to look as good as he has in two interim title fight wins against Urijah Faber and Michael McDonald.

Ranked the No. 9 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by ESPN.com, Barao admits he hasn't made a formal request to the UFC to strip Cruz, who hasn't fought since October 2011, of his title but it appears his patience is slightly running out.

That said, the Brazilian believes he's reaping all the benefits of an undisputed UFC champion. If he compares his status to teammate and UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, the perks are the same.

"The [UFC] treats me like the champion, they treat me very well," Barao said. "I travel first class [like Aldo]. It's pretty much the same thing.

"I don’t actually mind it. I guess everyone wants to know about the [interim title], but I'm very cool about the whole thing. I just think it's important the UFC makes a decision soon and settles this. I've considered myself the champion from the first time the belt went into my hands so yeah, I feel like [Cruz] needs to take this belt from me."

Jon Jones will look to make history by becoming the all-time leader in UFC light heavyweight title defenses with six. He’ll face Alexander Gustafsson, who is 15-1 and ranked second in ESPN.com’s light heavyweight rankings behind Jones. In the co-main event, interim UFC bantamweight titleholder Renan Barao defends against Eddie Wineland.

Here are the numbers you need to know for the fights:

5: : UFC light heavyweight title defenses for Jones, tied with Tito Ortiz, who defended the title from 2000 to 2002. In four of Jones’ five title defenses, he defeated a former UFC champion. Chael Sonnen, Jones’ most recent opponent, challenged for the UFC light heavyweight title for the first time, as Gustafsson will do Saturday night.

1: : Career losses by each fighter. Jones lost by disqualification to Matt Hamill in December 2009 due to “12-to-6” elbows. At the time of the DQ, Jones was in top position and held a 44-5 advantage in significant strikes. Gustafsson was defeated by Phil Davis in April 2010 by anaconda choke. Gustafsson was 0-for-5 in significant strikes while Davis landed 14 and a takedown.

13: Gustafsson fights that have not gone to the judges (12-1 record). The last two fights for “The Mauler” have gone to a decision (Mauricio Rua, Thiago Silva), which Gustafsson won unanimously.

6: Takedowns for Gustafsson in his last fight against Rua. In 8 UFC fights, Gustafsson has 10 takedowns. Jones has never been taken down in his UFC career (0 for 16). Sonnen did not attempt a takedown against Jones in their UFC 159 bout.

26: Consecutive rounds that Jones has held the significant striking advantage. The last round Jones was outstruck with significant strikes came in January 2009 against Stephan Bonnar.

0: There has never been a Swedish UFC champion. In fact, Gustafsson is the first Swede to fight for a UFC title as well as the first Scandinavian fighter (Sweden, Denmark and Norway).

3: Common opponents between Jones and Gustafsson. Both men have fought Hamill (Jones lost by DQ, Gustafsson won by KO/TKO), Vladimir Matyushenko (both won by KO/TKO), and Rua (Jones won by KO/TKO, Gustafsson won by unanimous decision).

3.9: Significant strikes per minute landed by each fighter. The difference lies in the accuracy of those strikes with Jones landing 53 percent to Gustafsson’s 36 percent.

8: Jones (84.5-inch wingspan) will have an 8-inch reach advantage over Gustafsson (76.5-inch wingspan). Gustafsson faced Cyrille Diabate (81-inch wingspan) in 2010, outstriking the Frenchman 28-11 while securing three takedowns en route to a submission victory.

2: Jones has an undefeated record inside Air Canada Centre, the Toronto arena that will host UFC 165. In December 2010, Jones made his second title defense against Lyoto Machida, choking him out in the second round. “Bones” would return to Toronto in September 2012, defending his title against Vitor Belfort with a fourth-round submission.

13: There have been 13 title fights in UFC history to take place in Canada. Of those 13, two saw the champion dethroned (Machida at UFC 113, Matt Serra at UFC 83). Along with Jones’ two title defenses, Renan Barao won his interim UFC bantamweight title against Urijah Faber at UFC 149 in Calgary.

14: Submission victories for Barao, including four in WEC/UFC fights. Nine of his victories are by choke and in his last fight, Barao defeated Michael McDonald by arm-triangle choke. Wineland has been submitted four times in his career, but not since 2009.

31.5: Wineland’s average significant strike percent landed in his last two victories. Wineland landed 31 percent against Brad Pickett, outstriking the Brit 90-67 in a split decision victory last December. Against Scott Jorgensen, Wineland landed 32 percent of his significant strikes, finishing the fight with a KO/TKO and a 61-48 advantage.

Former lightweight champion Benson Henderson suffered no structural damage to the right elbow that Anthony Pettis placed in an armbar during the first round of their title bout Aug. 31 at UFC 164 in Milwaukee.

Henderson received the diagnosis from Brian Shafer, a Phoenix-based elbow specialist who also serves as team physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“My elbow isn’t going to be an issue,” Henderson said Friday. “Dr. Shafer said I can resume training immediately but to take it slow and steady for a couple of weeks and do my rehab work. Of course, I am anxious to get going full speed again, but I will be smart and patient about it as well.”

Henderson was seeking to successfully defend his lightweight title for a UFC-record fourth time; he shares the record of three with BJ Penn. But Henderson’s hopes of breaking the mark were dashed when Pettis locked him in an armbar at 4:31 of the opening round.

“I felt his arm snap,” Pettis said after defeating Henderson for the second time in a title bout. “And he said, ‘Tap, tap, tap.’”

In their first meeting, on Dec. 16, 2010, Pettis beat Henderson by unanimous decision to claim the WEC 155-pound championship.

Though Pettis lifted the UFC belt from Henderson with an impressive showing, he did not leave the Octagon unscathed -- suffering a sprained right knee. It is expected that Pettis’ injury will require seven to eight weeks of rehabilitation to heal completely.

Pettis is slated to make his first UFC lightweight title defense against top contender TJ Grant. A date for the fight has not yet been set.

Glover Teixeira's quest to the UFC light heavyweight championship has taken on a predatory tone.

That's why the 33-year-old Brazilian will pay a visit to Toronto the night of Sept. 21.

Since debuting in the UFC a year ago in May 2012, Teixeira has rolled through five opponents while handing down a quartet of finishes. The latest came Wednesday with an opening round stoppage of Ryan Bader in Brazil -- impressive enough indeed for UFC to confirm Teixeira gets next after Alexander Gustafsson tries Jon Jones in Canada.

As UFC ascensions go, a more threatening contender could not have been produced. Teixeira always was a brute. He’s unbeaten since 2005; including his UFC venture that’s 20 consecutive victories. Living up to that reputation has helped induce an air of intimidation when he’s around the Octagon.

To this end, Teixeira’s title-focused journey is instructive and predictive. The guy embodies dangerousness. Let there be no doubt about that. So we should expect him to do as he’s done. This is why fight watchers won't stretch their imaginations much to envision Teixeira beating, perhaps stopping, Jones or his lanky Swedish challenger.

"To tell you the truth I don't have any preference; my dream is to get the belt," Teixeira said through a translator after stopping Bader. "But I believe Jon Jones will win, that's the way I see it, and I definitely prefer him as well in a certain manner because Jon Jones has a better name, he's been a champ for a long time, so whoever goes to face him has to be very focused, very well-trained, and to look at his game to make him disappear.”

Disappear. Like Bader on the end of Teixeira’s fists, which thud with a concussive, uplifting and motivating quality.

“I believe I have it and if I hit [Jones],” Teixeira said of his power, “he's going to go down."

Like Teixeira's mentor Chuck Liddell, the emerging light heavyweight possesses trainer John Hackleman’s bravado and left hook (both were useful in starching Bader). He's gifted with being an agile powerhouse. Thick and strong, Teixeira is put together like a bruising light heavyweight. He isn’t especially fast. If there's a knock against him, there you have it. Faced with greased lightning like "Bones" Jones, Teixeira could wind up looking silly. Then again, when a masher walks into a cage willing and able to give one to get one, speed can be fleeting and overrated.

Bader was faster than Teixeira, but Teixeira didn't care because he wanted a knockout. He waited for a knockout. He waited for Bader “to punch me so I could punch him.” He did.

"That's one thing he brings to the table against Jon Jones is the ability to put him away,” Bader said of Teixeira. “Props to him. He had a great fight. Definitely feel he has a great chance of getting the title."

Despite Bader’s endorsement, Teixeira wasn't totally pleased with his effort. He thought he was hit too much (he was) while waiting to counterattack.

“I was very close to him. That's where he got me,” Teixeira said. “I remember we always have to move and we always have to be the first. I have to do my strategy, which is always to move my head around and to go forward. And to make punches connect.

"As they say in English, 'Hit and don't get hit.'"

For what it's worth, Jones must have thought enough about Teixeira's effort to comment. The champion said on Twitter that he didn't mind if people thought he’d lose, he simply wanted to hear a logical argument how. Teixeira, wrote Jones, regurgitated memories of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson "just with better grappling." That would be a quick and sloppy assessment.

When Jones or Gustafsson take a closer look at Teixeira they’ll find a heavy-handed, persistent striker, a stalker with enough accuracy and explosion to instantly change a fight. They’ll see a guy who downed Bader while standing with his feet parallel to the cage -- hardly an ideal power-producing scenario. They’ll see someone competent to initiate and defend grappling exchanges. They’ll see a man unafraid of submission attempts.

They’ll see him in Toronto, watching, like the predator he appears to be.

The armbar: It’s the signature submission hold of UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. She has finished all seven of her professional opponents in the first round using the technique.

Even the woman who will coach opposite Rousey on this season of "The Ultimate Fighter," which begins Wednesday night at 10 ET on Fox Sports 1, knows what it feels like to be caught in that armbar. Former Strikeforce bantamweight champion Miesha Tate will be the first to tell you that it doesn’t feel good.

Rousey lifted the Strikeforce bantamweight title from Tate via an armbar on March 3, 2012. Tate has been attempting to become champion ever since.

Tate believes that the time has finally arrived to reclaim her status as best women’s bantamweight mixed martial artist. She is more confident than ever of dethroning Rousey and promises the armbar won’t come into play a second time around when they meet Dec. 28 at UFC 168 in Las Vegas.

With each training session, Tate discovers something new about the mistakes she made in the loss to Rousey. She says she won’t make them again. If Rousey is to retain her 135-pound title, she will have to do so with something other than an armbar.

“I learn a lot in every fight, but especially the ones that I lose,” Tate told ESPN.com. “I know the mistakes I made in that [first] fight, and I do believe they are fixable. I’m working on them all the time.

“And I’m keen to the mistakes she made. [Rousey] is not perfect. She makes mistakes in fights, too. It’s a matter of who can exploit them better. In the first fight she was definitely able to exploit the mistakes I made better.

“But I’m much more familiar with her style; I’m much more familiar with judo. I’ve learned a lot. There are things that I’ve taken note of.”

“

I have the skill-set to beat her. She's not invincible by any means. I know that being emotional and being mean-spirited does not serve me well inside the Octagon. So, I'd rather go in there with a positive outlook.

” -- Miesha Tate on fighting Ronda Rousey for the second time.

Tate acknowledges that Rousey won the psychological battle. She was able to get under Tate’s skin, which eventually took her out of her game.

Rousey never hides her feelings. If she doesn’t like you, she will let you know it right away. Rousey doesn’t like Tate -- and the feeling is mutual.

The difference now is that Tate refuses to lose her cool. Rousey can no longer throw Tate off her game, at least mentally. This rematch will come down solely to skill.

And Tate likes her chances in that arena.

“Ronda isn’t particularly stronger than anyone I’ve fought,” Tate said. “But she’s very good at what she does, she’s very smooth. And I’m very well aware of that.

“I wasn’t able to put it all together in time for that fight. Knowing that now and admitting to the mistakes that I made, and not being emotional.

“I have the skill-set to beat her. She’s not invincible by any means. I know that being emotional and being mean-spirited does not serve me well inside the Octagon. So, I’d rather go in there with a positive outlook.”

Being a coach on "The Ultimate Fighter" helped Tate further develop and maintain a positive outlook. Watching her fighters grow and improve brought Tate great joy.

But it wasn’t a one-way street. Teaching allowed Tate to closely examine her own techniques. And she corrected a few flaws in her game.

“I feel I retain more when I teach,” Tate said. “I learn more because I really have to dissect some things; I have to dissect a move, whereas before I was just doing it. Now that I have to think about them, I’ve learned how to do certain moves better.”

Sometimes, the "best" fight isn’t necessarily the "right" fight.

During the news conference following UFC 164, a place where president Dana White typically refuses to answer any of the “Who’s next for so-and-so” questions, he was at least willing to admit the obvious.

What is the most tantalizing, intriguing, fun fight he could make right now for featherweight champion Jose Aldo?

"It’s 100 percent Anthony Pettis," White said. "Yeah, 100 percent. That is a sick fight."

So why then, less than 72 hours later, did White announce Pettis would defend the lightweight title against TJ Grant? Aldo’s schedule is open. Expectations are that his foot injury will heal within the same timeframe of Pettis’ knee. What gives?

We can safely assume here that if Pettis is the best fight available for Aldo, then Aldo is the best fight available for Pettis. Fans, media, probably even Grant would admit that absolutely, Aldo versus Pettis is "a sick fight."

The "right" fight though, is the one the UFC is going with. Grant (21-5) has this strange, unflattering quality of being somewhat overlookable -- but that can’t take away from the fact he is (A) The No. 1 contender at 155 pounds, (B) Deserving of the opportunity to achieve his dream and (C) A pretty sick fight against Pettis, himself.

When a belt changes hands, one of the first questions seemingly on everybody’s mind is: How long before it changes hands again? In the case of Pettis, the quality of the lightweight division suggests it will be difficult to hang on to the belt, but the quality of his recent three first-round finishes say he’s up to the task.

We know, however, that styles make fights and interestingly enough, Grant represents perhaps the absolute worst style matchup for Pettis at 155 pounds. And he happens to be up first.

“

If Pettis defends the title and gets that win, we'll probably be looking at Aldo next.

” --Dana White on a feature fight between Anthony Pettis and Jose Aldo.

If you picked Henderson last weekend, you probably did so because the best way to avoid dynamite is to smother it. Henderson tried to contain Pettis’ flash -- couldn’t.

Grant is big, first of all. A welterweight turned lightweight, who has been dominant since dropping weight classes in 2011. He can smother, but in a violent manner. Whereas few expected Henderson to really hurt Pettis (more control him), the same can’t be said in a matchup with Grant.

Does this fight possess the same combustible nature that Aldo versus Pettis would? We basically already answered that it doesn’t. White admitted as much.

Credit the UFC though, for promoting the correct fight, instead of necessarily the easy fight. Grant is the No. 1 contender at 155 pounds. Pettis is the 155-pound champion. Pettis has never fought at 145 pounds. Aldo has never fought at 155.

Also, notice what White told "SportsCenter" on Tuesday.

“If Pettis defends the title and gets that win, we’ll probably be looking at Aldo next,” White said.

Both Aldo and Pettis are 26. Aldo will undoubtedly become a lightweight at some point and Pettis isn’t going anywhere. If these two still haven’t fought each other by the time they’re 30, we can revisit this topic.

For now, "giving" Grant the fight he earned inside the cage was the right call.

MILWAUKEE -- The timing couldn’t have been worse for former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir. He lost to fellow former heavyweight titleholder Josh Barnett in the co-main event Saturday night at UFC 164.

It’s not just that Mir was the victim of a first-round TKO -- the stoppage was a bit premature. It’s that Mir has now lost three in a row, and wasn’t competitive in any of those fights.

Making matters more unfortunate for Mir is that the loss comes against a fighter who hadn’t competed inside the Octagon since 2002. Barnett is still a good fighter, but other than Daniel Cormier, he hadn’t faced top-level opposition of late.

This was the type of fight Mir was supposed to win, or at least be competitive in -- he did neither. Barnett punched him, kneed him and pushed him around. At no time in this brief encounter, which came to an end at the 1:56 mark, did Mir pose the slightest threat to Barnett.

Mir was simply outclassed in his third straight fight. And at 34, and showing little sign of improving, his future as a heavyweight to be taken seriously appears to have run its course.

Never in his professional mixed martial arts career had Mir dropped three fights in a row. If ever there was a worse time to experience such a drought, this was it. And at 34 years old, the odds of Mir rebounding from this hole to get back in title contention are slim.

What Mir has to fight for now isn’t a title shot; that option isn’t reasonable. His goal today is finishing his career on a positive note. It’s about getting wins, even if they must come against second-tier fighters.

“

It felt great to get this win here in the UFC. It's been a long time coming.

” -- Josh Barnett on beating Frank Mir in his return to the UFC.

He may no longer be title-worthy, but Mir has achieved enough inside UFC to retain his spot on the promotion’s roster. No one should, for one second, think Mir will be released by UFC. It won’t happen and it shouldn’t.

But his name should not even be considered for another co-main event as participants are being bantered about by matchmaker Joe Silva. This isn’t a knock on Mir, especially when he is down -- it’s just facing reality.

Mir looks slow in the cage these days, even with the improved physical conditioning he’s been receiving under the guidance of Greg Jackson in Albuquerque, N.M. And Mir deserves credit for taking the extra step to train in Albuqurque, spending weeks away from his family in Las Vegas.

The determination to succeed remains. It’s just that Mir is struggling to find a way to do so in today’s UFC.

Barnett, on the other hand, shouldn’t be pumping his chest too hard. He had the good fortune to catch Mir on the down side of his career. Regardless, competing and winning in the Octagon for the first time in years had Barnett in a jovial mood.

“It felt great to get this win here in the UFC,” Barnett said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

The best time to gauge where Barnett truly stands at this point in his MMA career will be in his next fight. Hopefully, it will be against a fighter on the upswing.

Travis Browne comes to mind. Byt hat might be stretching it a bit. How about Ben Rothwell, who showed tremendous resolve in his come-from-behind, third-round TKO of Brandon Vera in an earlier main-card bout.

Sitting inside his suite at the MGM Grand the morning after stopping Randy Couture to become the youngest heavyweight champion in UFC history, anything seemed possible for Josh Barnett.

"I hope in passing the torch to Josh he will represent the sport in a positive way, and I know he will," Couture said following UFC 36. "He's going to be a great champion."

It didn't work out the way anyone would have imagined, which is why Saturday's fight against Frank Mir at UFC 164 in Milwaukee marks Barnett's first appearance in the Octagon since dethroning "The Natural" 11 years ago.

At ease in a sun-drenched emerald green room with a view on the morning of March 23, 2002, his new belt within arm's reach, Barnett, then 24, believed he should be paid much more than he'd ever been paid in his career.

But his contract was up -- something Zuffa learned not to let happen with future would-be champions -- and rumors were he wanted $1 million per fight from the UFC. Just back on pay-per-view, doing mostly dim numbers on television, the promotion was hardly in position to break the bank. It balked at the young champion's demands.

"I fought when no one was fighting for money, really," Barnett, 35, recalled during a recent conference call. "I fought when you couldn't get MMA gear at your local sports store. We had to make it ourselves. I fought when most of the time we didn't even wear gloves. We were under attack from all angles."

Mir, a two-time UFC champion holding the most victories and submissions of any heavyweight ever to fight in the Octagon, knows this period well. He signed with Zuffa in 2001 -- not something worth bragging about back then, he said -- and was in the midst of starting his career the night Barnett became champion.

"It wasn't something you went and told a girl when you were trying to go on a date with her that you were aspiring to beat people up in the Octagon," said Mir, now 34. "In fact, even if I tried to describe it a few times, it was like no one had a clue what you were talking about. So it wasn't something really to garner fans."

Mir moved to 4-0 at UFC 36 thanks to an iconic shoulder lock against Pete Williams. That win, coupled with his first in the UFC, a fast armbar over Roberto Travern, prompted people to mention Mir as a future champion.

However, he knew he wasn't ready for the likes of Barnett, and showed it in his next fight against Ian Freeman. Mentally, Mir said, he just didn't have it in him then to beat the blond brawler Barnett.

"I think I [would have] had an opportunity early on in the fight to get him, a submission to catch somebody, but if the first couple failed, I would have been in a lot of trouble," Mir said.

Said Barnett: "On paper, I had a lot more fights and experience, but, hey, Frank was going out there and beating plenty of experienced guys, and tapping them out," Barnett said. "I think people would have been interested to watch the fight back then, just as much as they'd like watching the fight now."

Neither fighter is especially hot. Within 11 months of one another, each lost decisions to Daniel Cormier, who's preparing to leave the division and fight instead at 205. They're not kids anymore, either, though Cormier suggested that each man remains capable and because of their styles, the bout should be fun to watch. That could be especially true if they grapple. Mir is thought of as the UFC's best heavyweight submission artists. That may have been Barnett, had he stuck around.

From Cormier's perspective, Barnett's the better, faster fighter right now.

"You know what I think the difference will be, as good a shape as Mir was when we fought, he still wasn't very fast," Cormier said. "Josh Barnett is actually pretty fast, whether he's throwing punches or kicks. Speed will be the real difference."

Any chance of seeing a contest a decade ago between youthful submission mavens took a tumble shortly after Barnett became king. His fate with the UFC was sealed when he became the first fighter to face discipline from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for steroid use. The news came a month after he defeated Couture and shook UFC's heavyweight division. Zuffa stripped Barnett of the title, creating a scenario, by Dana White's own estimation, in which the belt wasn't worth much for a while.

Matt Hume's strong ties to Japan, the place to be in MMA at the time, created a current that carried his charge Barnett overseas. It was a fine fallback: A few months after Barnett bested Couture (a result that stands because NSAC guidelines at the time didn't allow a result to be overturned due to a positive drug test), Pride and K-1 collaborated for an event that drew more than 91,000 fans to Tokyo National Stadium. This was fantastical stuff for U.S.-based mixed martial artists. Also, from a sport perspective, Pride champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was the best heavyweight in the world, and the following year he was eclipsed by Fedor Emelianenko.

Barnett picked up five wins against a mixed bag of opponents before settling into Pride on Halloween 2004. Mir returned to form following his loss to Freeman by defeating David "Tank" Abbott and Wes Sims. This was enough to get him a shot at the beleaguered UFC belt owned by Tim Sylvia. It wasn't the prettiest period for UFC heavyweights, but the Las Vegas native looked to offer salvation when he snapped Sylvia's forearm.

Mir went from winning the title to vacating it after a motorcycle accident kept him sidelined for two years. He has since fought for some version of a UFC heavyweight belt four times, winning once. Barnett took his share of important fights, but lost big ones as well. He also had more run-ins with performance-enhancing drugs, costing him, most prominently, a contest against No. 1-ranked Emelianenko in 2009.

Having finally returned to the UFC, despite intense moments of disagreement with Zuffa that made any reconciliation appear impossible, Barnett's confidence in his ability to win fights and hurt people at the highest level remains strong.

"The first time around I went all the way to the top and won the heavyweight championship of the world," Barnett said. "I don't expect any different -- other than to get paid a lot more money and a lot more stardom and fandom out of this whole thing because of the explosion of MMA as a whole."

As Mir (16-7) and Barnett (32-6) prepare to face off at UFC 164 for a long overdue, yet barely discussed bout, they'll do so in the final stages of successful, though ultimately wanting, careers.

If Ricardo Lamas fails to receive the next UFC title shot at 145 pounds, Chad Mendes says he’ll feel for him a bit. But Lamas should know: He only has himself to blame.

Twice this year, Mendes says he’s tried to book a fight against Lamas -- only to get the feeling Lamas wants nothing to do with him.

The first occurred when Manny Gamburyan withdrew from a bout at UFC 157 due to injury, just two weeks prior to the event. Mendes publicly called Lamas out, but was told he was already booked to an unannounced fight. Fair enough.

The second time, though, Mendes says he was willing to face Lamas on three weeks' notice at UFC 162, when Lamas’ original opponent, Chan Sung Jung, was pulled for a title fight. It didn’t happen and Lamas was eventually pulled from the card.

“I’ve called him out. I’ve tried to fight him a couple times,” Mendes told ESPN.com. “Once was on short notice for him so that’s understandable, but the other one was on three weeks' notice for me and he still turned it down.

“I think to be the best you have to fight the best and I don’t know if he’s willing to do it.”

Mendes (14-1) has been itching for a high-profile fight after several previous bouts have fallen through due to injury. He has a big one on his hands this weekend, when he meets Clay Guida at UFC 164 in Milwaukee.

A former No. 1 contender at featherweight, Mendes feels a win over Guida should net him a rematch against Jose Aldo, who he lost to early last year.

Even considering Mendes’ current streak of three consecutive first-round knockouts, a win over Guida is nothing to take lightly. Mendes says his veteran opponent has played spoiler to title aspirations before.

As for what specific challenges Guida (30-13) brings to the cage, Mendes admits he’s not sure what to expect. Whether it’s because Guida is “just getting old or what,” Mendes says his style has changed a lot in recent years.

“The old-school Clay would stand in the pocket and throw punches, scramble, grapple -- in your face the entire time,” Mendes said. “Lately, he’s been more of a points fighter. Pitter-patter on the feet and look to take you down and just lay there.

“We’ve definitely prepared for both Clays. I’m ready for whatever one comes out.”

Of course, earning another shot at the seemingly invincible Aldo is only half the goal. Taking the belt from him is what matters, and Mendes knows he’s capable of it.

Everyone asked him before that first title bout in Brazil, “Are you ready? Has this all happened too fast?” The answer, honestly, was yeah. Pretty much. Mendes, less than four years into his pro career at that time, probably wasn’t ready for Aldo.

But as he points out, it’s an irrelevant question. You don’t turn down a shot at the title. And even though things didn’t go his way that night, the loss, as it usually does for great fighters, has made him better. He’s evolved because of it.

Whereas before the Aldo knee, Mendes was typically looking for a “safe” way to outwrestle his opponents, he’s found himself looking for knockouts ever since it.

The wrestling background will always be there as a second option, which now only gives him more confidence in his striking game. It’s a feeling he never had prior to the Aldo fight.

“Going into the first fight after the loss, my mentality was just go pull the trigger and see what happens,” Mendes said. “Bam, I got a knockout. That fight showed me if I just let my hands go, I could put these guys away.

“Before my mindset was to not get hit. I’m becoming more confident on my feet and I’m excited from here on out.”

Of all the members of Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, Mendes will perhaps benefit most from the addition of head coach Duane Ludwig late last year.

In the first meeting against Aldo, the question was, “Can Chad get him down?” These days, Mendes and his team believe a question around the rematch could be, “Can Chad knock him out?”

“He’s going to be the world champion of the UFC, 100 percent,” Ludwig said. “Most athletes in general, you just have to get them out of position. I won’t elaborate too much on that, but we’re going to get Jose out of position.”