UFC 133 Fight Card: 4 Reasons Chad Mendes Will Be a UFC Champion

Despite the fact that there have been many featherweight fights hosed by the UFC since their merger with the WEC, many fans aren't familiar with the featherweight title picture nor the featherweight contenders.

Chad "Money" Mendes is one such contender that may have flown under peoples' radar but no longer.

Mendes is fighting Rani Yahya at UFC 133 but was actually supposed to be fighting for Jose Aldo's featherweight title.

Nevertheless, the fight against Yahya is likely just delaying the inevitable. Mendes will be a UFC champion one day! Why? Read and find out.

Wrestling

Wrestling wins fights, period. The ability to control your opponent and dictate where the fight takes place is invaluable in mixed martial arts.

Mendes is a two-time NCAA Division-I All-American and as such is one of the most accomplished wrestlers at featherweight.

In addition, if there is a likely Achilles heel for Jose Aldo (or Kenny Florian, who may take the belt from Aldo at UFC 136) it may well be wrestling since fighters who train out of the Black House have shown a weakness to wrestling (Anderson Silva and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira being two such examples).

Simply put, Mendes' wrestling will allow him to dominate anyone currently at featherweight.

Toughness

Not only has Chad Mendes never been finished in any of his 10 fights, he's never even lost. His 10-fight winning streak dates back to the start of his career in 2008.

Mendes managed to defeat the likes of Erik Koch, Cub Swanson and Javier Vazquez.

When a man dominates top competition with ease (every decision victory he has earned has been unanimous), it's clear that the man has the conditioning, the willpower and the sheer toughness to make it to the top.

Training Camp

Chad Mendes trains with the well-respected Team Alpha Male, which includes other notable fighters such as Urijah Faber, Danny Castillo and Joseph Benavidez.

These fighters will be able to get the best out of Mendes and guarantee that he is in fighting shape and that his skills stay sharp.

Age

At only 26 years of age, Chad Mendes has a very long career ahead of him. Should he lose to Rani Yahya at UFC 133, he will still have the time and abilities to recover and ultimately get a shot at UFC gold sometime in the future.