LAS VEGAS – Nate Maness beat Mateus Mendonca with a first-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 229 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Maness, who snapped a two-fight skid and now has $50,000 post-fight bonuses in his most recent three wins.
Nate Maness vs. Mateus Mendonca
Result: Nate Maness def. Mateus Mendonca via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:40
Updated records: Maness (15-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC), Mendonca (10-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC)
Key stats: Manessa landed an incredible 103 of 114 total strikes and outstruck Mendonca 103-9 overall in a little less than a round.
Maness on the fight's key moment
“I thought we were going to get in there and bang, but I saw desperation. I think when he couldn’t get the takedowns the way that he wanted to, diving for the legs the way he did, I think he was ready to get me out of there and he didn’t really want to go the distance.”
Maness on feeling disrespected
“After my Tony Gravely knockout, I screamed in the camera, ‘What’s my name?’ and I really caught on all my fans really loved that. So that’s where that come from. But the UFC posted (Friday) fighters to watch, and it was (Montana) De La Rosa and Mateusz (Gamrot) and I was just a little disrespected. I’ve been here – this is my sixth fight (in the UFC). He’s brand new. … Between the two of us, I’m the fighter to watch, for sure.”
Maness on what he wants next
“This is my sixth fight in the UFC, all here at the Apex. I’d love to get in front of a crowd. (I’d like to fight) C.J. Vergara or Victor Altamirano – I know he just fought Tim Elliott, so he’s got a little bit of a big-time experience in there. There’s a bunch of fun guys, I think. The top 15 is wide open for us (at flyweight). David Dvorak, Matt Schnell – all these guys will be exciting fights.
“(Vergara) goes out there and throws man. He’s kind of flashy. He’s got some nice kicks, things like that. More than anything, I was just calling guys out. He’s the only one that didn’t respond and I feel a type of way about it. ”
To hear more from Maness, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 229.
