UFC
Cody McKenzie dropping to featherweight, meets Chad Mendes at UFC 148 in July
May 18, 2012 - 5:25:17 PM Cody McKenzie dropping to featherweight, meets Chad Mendes at UFC 148 in July

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Fresh off a win over UFC newcomer Marcus LeVesseur on Tuesday at UFC on Fuel 3, Cody McKenzie is dropping to the featherweight division, and he'll make a quick turnaround as well.

The UFC announced on Friday that McKenzie will take on the last title challenger at 145 lbs., Chad Mendes, at UFC 148 on July 7.

Mendes suffered his first career loss in his last bout, getting knocked out in the final seconds of the first round in a title fight against Jose Aldo at UFC 142 in January. It snapped an 11-fight winning streak for the Team Alpha Male product to kick off his career.

McKenzie's victory over LeVesseur was his 13th career win, and snapped a two-fight losing streak in the organization. McKenzie's last 11 wins have all come by guillotine choke in the first round.

Penick's Analysis: This seems like an attempt to get Mendes back on track. McKenzie's very good with the one trick he's shown off, but he fades as fights go on, and he is very prone to takedowns. Mendes is an accomplished wrestler who will likely dominate that aspect of the fight, and he's never been submitted or even really come close to being submitted before. It's a major step down in competition from Aldo, but may still be a solid fight overall.