Tanquinhowants ranked opponent after ‘Fight of the Night' win over Frankie Saenz

[Edge Guerrero]

by Guilherme Cruz @guicruzzz Feb 26, 2017

Augusto Mendes had no opportunities to use his jiu-jitsu at UFC Fight Night 103, but that didn’t stop him from getting his first UFC victory.

Multiple-time grappling champion “Tanquinho” showed his improvement in the stand-up area earlier this year in Phoenix, defeating Frankie Saenz via split decision and earning the event’s “Fight of the Night” bonus. But nonetheless, Mendes admits that he didn’t expect to have such a hard time keeping his opponent on his back.

"I imagined it would be tough to take him down, he’s a good wrestler, but I thought that once I took him down, I would be able to keep him there,” Mendes told MMA Fighting. "Him going down and being able to quickly pop right back up really surprised me.”

Forced to stand and trade for 15 minutes, Mendes rocked Saenz a couple of times in the fight. "Tanquinho" was happy with his evolution, but still sees room for improvement.

"We can always get better. I’m never satisfied,” Mendes said. "I thought it was enough for that moment, to win that fight, but I know there are a lot of things to fix, things to evolve. That’s one of my goals as a MMA fighter, become a well-rounded guy and be as much comfortable as I can standing and in the wrestling area, and use my jiu-jitsu in the fights. The secret is to never settle and think it's enough. It was enough to win, but I want to get better."

Fresh off his first UFC victory, Mendes looked back to his short-notice debut against future UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt to show how far he can go if given enough time to prepare for fights.

"I did a great training camp for this fight with my coaches and teammates,” Mendes said. "For the Cody fight, I only had five days to prepare. I was in the gym, but it’s different than doing a whole camp focused on you and your opponent, studying his game. That gives you confidence. I don’t have the greatest striking technique in the world, but I was confident (against Saenz). My hand was landing and he was rocked, so I knew I could even knock him out there."

Mendes won the bout, but Saenz also came close to finishing him in the second round after landing a vicious standing elbow. “Tanquinho" survived the scare and came back to win the third round and the fight, but Mendes said that his opponent came close to the knockout because Mendes himself made a mistake.

Full read http://www.mmafighting.com/2017/2/26/14295866/augusto-mendes-wants-ranked-opponent-fight-of-the-night-win-over-frankie-saenz-ufc