Unbeaten featherweight standout Chad “Money” Mendes will have to wait a little longer for his shot at UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo. Mendes will square off against jiu-jitsu ace Rani Yahya at UFC 133 on August 6th in Philadelphia after Aldo was forced out due to a lingering neck injury.
Mendes, a powerhouse wrestler, has yet to taste defeat through ten mixed martial arts bouts and he won his Octagon debut at UFC 126 in February. Yahya alternated big wins and losses in the WEC, but impressed in his first UFC bout in January, where he defeated former WEC champ Mike Brown.
Mendes (10-0-0) racked up five wins in California before making his WEC debut on March 6, 2010. On that night, he became the first and only man to date to defeat Erik “New Breed” Koch, and Mendes would go on to score wins in three additional WEC appearances last year. In February, Mendes faced surging Japanese star Michihiro Omigawa at UFC 126 and earned a Unanimous Decision on the strength of his superior wrestling.
Yahya (16-6-0) competed primarily in Brazil and Japan before debuting for the WEC in June 2007. After submitting Mark Hominick, Yahya dropped down to bantamweight and challenged unsuccessfully for the promotion’s 135-pound title. He would later alternate between bantamweight and featherweight bouts in the WEC, with mixed success. After losing his final two WEC bouts, Yahya rebounded in a big way with the victory over Brown at UFC: “Fight For The Troops 2.”
UFC 133 takes place on August 6th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The card will be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between former champion “Suga” Rashad Evans and top prospect Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis.
UFC 133 Fight Card (subject to change):
– “Suga” Rashad Evans vs Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis
– Chad “Money” Mendes vs Rani Yahya
– Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort vs Yoshihiro Akiyama
– Rich “Ace” Franklin vs Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira
– Johnny Hendricks vs Mike Pierce
– Rory “The Waterboy” MacDonald vs Mike “Quicksand” Pyle
– Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera vs Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara
– Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson vs Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko
– Mike Brown vs Nam Phan
– “The Pride of El Salvador” Ivan Menjivar vs Nick Pace
– Brian “Bad Boy” Ebersole vs Dennis “Superman” Hallman
– Rafael “Sapo” Natal vs Riki Fukuda
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)