Coming in hot, Submission Underground's third show delivers us another top UFC talent in their athletic prime as Chad Mendes steps into the submission fighting world.

By no means stepping into the shallow end, Mendes will meet renown grappling competitor Jeff Glover, who's accolades extend well past his black belt in the Gi as he holds over 15 open-weight titles as well as a Mundial de No-gi Championship in 2007. Although Glover has scored wins over notable names like Fredson Paixao, Ciao Terra, and Wilson Reis, he has yet to face a grappler with the wrestling pedigree that Mendes will be bringing to the table.

Despite Mendes not holding the same type of accolades and experiences as Glover, you cannot forget the fact that the California native has been grappling since 5-years of age. Earning All-American honors at a high school level, Mendes would go onto to wrestle for California Polytechnic State University. Initially wrestling at 125 pounds for his first two-years at Cal Poly, Mendes would earn himself a Pac-10 Championship in 2006 as he ultimately placed 6th as a NCAA All-American.

Struggling with injuries throughout early 2007, Mendes would make a drastic change of weight classes as he was tired of taxing his growing body with the cut down to 125. Instead of making the next logical move to the 133-pound class, Mendes would jump all the way up to 141-pounds against his coach's initial advice. However, tunes would quickly change when the next season started as Mendes' skill-set began to take new life.

Always a natural athlete, Mendes' inherent speed advantage would start to become apparent once the Cal Poly standout stepped onto the mat with larger men. Although we often associate Mendes' MMA wrestling to his patent power-double, he tended to favor working his chains from a single-leg in his collegiate days. Parlaying his speed and athleticism to his technics, Mendes would develop a solid transition game that he would accompany to his renown riding ability.


Chad Mendes pins 2nd ranked Manuel Rivera (Minnesota)

Displaying an early appetite to work from the front-headlock position in the video above, you can see the natural evolution and stylistic fit he would eventually find at Team Alpha Male later on in his career.

Even though the Cal Poly All-American was not shy about showing strength and snapping an opponent down, Mendes would make most of his money in transit as would typically score on the second or third chain. Demonstrating an educated awareness when rolling through trouble spots, Mendes' creativeness would often come out during scrambles as he was always quick to use his opponent's leg to lever himself to an advantageous position.

Sharpening these techniques seamlessly his senior year, Mendes would go on to earn himself an undefeated season en route to another Pac-10 championship where he would also earn the honors of "Wrestler of the Year." In what was shaping out to be the perfect season would quickly change, as what happened next was a reminder of the unforgiving swings of sports.

With 2008 being just one year removed from the New England Patriots' infamous undefeated season, history would soon repeat itself as Mendes entered the NCAA finals. Drawing the 6th seed of that season, J Jaggers, Mendes was expected to win by many heading into their championship match. Although Jaggers did not have an impressive record to close out his season, the Ohio State Buckeye would show up on game days, and often with an awkward style attached as he was able to score an upset in a dramatic final match.


Mendes vs Jaggers 2008 NCAA Finals

Despite this being a self-admitted devastating moment for Mendes, the Californian would spend little time licking his wounds as he linked up with Team Alpha Male and jumped right into the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Having his first official fight later that year in September, Mendes stormed onto the scene as he scored his first win by way of submission.

In what was the only fight where Mendes would come out southpaw, the former All-American would waste little time in grounding his opponent. Displaying all the signs you would want to see from a wrestler transitioning into MMA, Mendes transitioned his wrestling rides naturally as he eventually advanced to a mount position and finished the fight.


Chad Mendes MMA debut

As you would expect from a high-caliber talent attached to a name like Team Alpha Male, Chad Mendes would find himself fast-tracked to what was a booming organization called the WEC. Passing a tough debut test against a young Erik Koch, we would see Mendes' grappling roots shine through in his next fight with Anthony Morrison. Utilizing his favored front-headlock, Mendes would score a crafty arm-in Guillotine choke against the cage and from there, it was off the races as top competition was all but a certainty at that point.

In what would ultimately be a run of 5 black belts back-to-back, Mendes would be tested first against the likes of Cub Swanson and Javier Vasquez. Though each fighter presented unique threats, Mendes showed the ability to neutralize submissions and control the action. Despite the former All-American violating what some would consider as fundamental hand positioning(i.e. keeping your hands on the mat), Mendes was able to get away with certain stylistic choices due to his positional awareness and pressure.

Even though Michihiro Omigawa almost taxed him for leaving an arm behind, Mendes showed to bounce back with an even tighter performance in his next fight with Rani Yahya, who was arguably the most dangerous submission threat in the division at that time. As the Cal Poly Alum's MMA career progressed, we would see less grappling as Mendes developed the taste and technics for knocking opponent's out. Although Mendes has always kept a power-double at the ready in fights, many wonder how far his scramble and submission skills have come since his time at Team Alpha Male.

Parlaying what has been a challenging year into a positive, Chad Mendes will now get that chance to show his skills as he looks to scale the heights of a new mountain. If you are one who questions how Mendes' style will translate, I assure you not to worry as we are in for a treat. With the adage of "styles make fights" applying to the grappling world as well, Jeff Glover brings an unpredictable versatility that will surely bring the best Mendes out to play. Regardless of the outcome on January 29th, you cannot help but be excited for what is a stylistic ticking time bomb of possibility.

Submission Underground 3(SUG 3) is presented by Chael Sonnen & FloSports and is LIVE from Portland's Roseland Theater at 3 p.m. PST Sunday, Jan. 29, on FloGrappling.com.