Breaking Down WEC 52: Chad Mendes vs. Javier Vazquez

Added on Nov 08, 2010 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

In the co-main event Chad Mendes will face Javier Vazquez in what will turn out to most likely be a grappling clinic. Both Mendes and Vasquez are aces on the floor, but with different disciplines. Although the wrestler vs Brazilian Jiu Jitsu artist matches can sometimes turn into stand up battles, I don’t see either of the two willing to take that risk.

Chad Mendez, who is currently undefeated with 8 wins (4 of which are in the WEC,) is a Faber protege and fights out of Team Alpha Male. He is an NCAA caliber wrestler who ended up with a record of 30-1, and was ranked number one for most of his Senior year. In 2008 he received the PAC-10 wrestler of the year award. Basically, this guy knows how to control people on the floor. He has only finished four of his opponents, two by ko and two by submission, but he hasn’t been stopped himself.

Javier Vazquez is a Rodrigo Medeiros (Carlson Gracie student) Black Belt who is currently15 and 4, and has ten wins by submission. He lost his first two fights in the WEC, but has since won his past two against Jens Pulver and Mackens Semerzier. It’s really a choice of what style you prefer, but personally I think Vazquez will have the better stand up in this match.

As mentioned, I think this fight has a chance, albeit a small one, to turn into a stand up battle. If it does happen to turn into a stand up war, don’t expect it to look pretty. They will both throw hay makers at the off chance one will muster up the power to knock out the other. One thing to look out for is whether or not Mendes has improved his striking on the ground. He has been accused of just being controlling of his opponents on the floor, but not really inflicting any damage. More then likely this will be on the floor. Expect some high level grappling, and expect it to move fast. Although Vazquez has the ability to pull submissions out of no where, this might be bad news for Vazquez. Don’t get me wrong, he has an active guard, but Mendes knows just enough to survive submission attempts. When you add that to the fact that Mendes will win ninety-seven percent of the scrambles it all adds up to a decision loss for Javier.