Chad Mendes could be competing for the final time later this month.
Mendes meets fellow UFC alum Eddie Alvarez in the co-main event of BKFC 41, which takes place April 29 at 1STBANK Center in Denver. The main card will stream online on FITE TV with a $49.99 price point.
A former three-time UFC featherweight title challenger, Mendes is widely considered one of the best fighters to never win a title. The 37-year-old looked impressive in his BKFC debut when he stopped Joshuah Alvarez, but unless he gets a lucrative paycheck for his next fight, he may call it a career.
“I don’t know. This honestly might be the last fight,” Mendes said in an interview with War Sports. “We’ll just kind of see how this one goes. But I mean, the plan in my mind is probably to hang them up after this. We’ve just gotta see how this fight goes, and we’ll go from there. I keep saying that, but money talks. I already told the wife this is likely to be the last one.”
He continued, “If we go out there and get a quick knockout, I might toy with one more.”
With a win over Alvarez, Mendes could position himself for a title fight against dual champ Luis Palomino. But Mendes said that’s not something he’s after.
“Honestly that fight has zero interest for me,” Mendes said. “Unless they were gonna pay big bucks, I just don’t see bare-knuckle offering the type of money that I would require to fight again with a guy like that. Nothing against Luis, I think he’s a stud.
“I just don’t see him having the name for them to be able to pay what I would want to get paid. In all honesty, I really have zero desire to win a bare-knuckle belt. But yeah, I mean, if the organization was gonna pay me some big bucks, and it was worth it, then sure. But just to chase the belt? No, I don’t really have any desire.”
