UFC featherweight fighter Chad ‘Money’ Mendes is wanted by the police in connection with a bar-room brawl that broke out in his home town of Hanford, California on Friday night.
According to the Hanford Sentinal, Police and the Gang Task Force were initially called out to a forty-man brawl at the Lacey Inn Bar, late Friday night.
As the brawl spilled out onto the streets officers spotted Mendes who appeared to be intoxicated and was verbally abusing them.
At that point the police asked him to leave, but instead the former featherweight No.1 contender moved back inside the establishment and allegedly sucker-punched another man, leaving him with a contusion.
Mendes then fled the scene and was pursued by an officer who was unable to detain him.
Since then the authorities have been hunting for Mendes, but have been unable to locate him. They now say he has until Monday to turn himself in for questioning or they’ll formally file charges against him.
If Mendes is found guilty of the crime his background as an MMA fighter could come back to haunt him as Assistant Sheriff Dave Putnam notes that the District Attorney office would have to weigh up whether his profession would result in him facing a charge for assault with a deadly weapon.
It’s surprising to hear of Mendes involvement in this as up until this point he’s given no indication of being a trouble maker and is a well respected member of Urijah Faber’s ‘Team Alpha Male’ camp.
Mendes currently has a 12-1 record, and after an unsuccessful title bid against Jose Aldo earlier in the year he’s since bounced back with a relatively easy KO win over Cody McKenzie last month.
