Chad Mendes Thinks He Deserves Better Than Hacran Dias

Source: TATAME

Chad Mendes (12-1) isn't sure why the UFC has paired him to fight Hacran Dias (21-1-1) next month. Mendes admitted that he's not certain how the upcoming fight will bring him back into the title picture. José Aldo (21-1) defeated Mendes back at UFC 123 to become the first UFC featherweight champion.

"I confess that I was taken back," said Mendes to TATAME. "I fought against Cody McKenzie and Dana White was saying that he would give me a better fight. Not that I'm taking away the merit of Hacran, but he has just one UFC fight. The guy is still unknown and it was not exactly what I had in mind to come back to fight for the title."

Dias won in his debut at UFC 147 after signing a three fight deal. He took home a unanimous decision win. Mendes defeated Cody McKenzie (13-3) over the summer needing only 31 seconds to earn his third career knockout. Aldo is scheduled to defend his title next against Frankie Edgar (14-3-1) in early 2013.

While Mendes doesn't think that a fight with Dias makes sense, he's not taking anything away from this opponent.

"This will be a tough fight because he's a tough fighter, but I feel as if that means putting everything aside, "said Mendes.

Mendes vs. Dias is set for December 15 at the UFC On FX 6 card. The show takes place out of Australia.

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