Eric Schafer vs Antonio Mendes UFC 93 fight confirmed for Dublin

by MMAmania.com on Dec 16, 2008 11:14 PM EST Comment 29 comments

Eric Schafer (10-3-2) -- not Andre Gusmao as previously reported -- will collide with Antonio Mendes (15–3) in a light heavyweight clash at UFC 93: "Franklin vs. Henderson" at The O2 in Dublin, Ireland, on January 17.

"Red" is more than likely still riding high after surviving an early Houston Alexander onslaught at UFC Fight Night 15 back in September to eventually choke the father of six unconscious in the waning seconds of the first round.

It was the second win in four attempts inside the Octagon for the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Schafer had to win his way back into the UFC in smaller shows after dropping back-to-back fights against Michael Bisping and Stephan Bonnar.

Mendes was on a nice run before he made his Octagon debut against Thiago Silva at UFC 84: "Ill Will" back in May. The Brazilian lost via submission (strikes) in the first round. Before the loss, Mendes was on an 11-fight win streak, competing primarily in his native Brazil and throughout Europe.

Rich "Ace" Franklin (24-3) and Dan "Hollywood" Henderson (23-7) -- two of the world’s most elite 205-pound fighters -- will headline UFC 93. Also featured is the return of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua as he takes on UFC pioneer Mark "The Hammer" Coleman.

To check out the latest UFC 93 fight card and rumors click here.

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Comments

Nice! Good to see Mendes back in action again. Hope he brings the pain to Schafer just like what he did to Brazilian convicts back in the day!

by Syd[a.k.a. "The Negation"] on Dec 16, 2008 11:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

what happened to gusmao?

by brendan on Dec 17, 2008 1:32 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I am veryy happy to see the Smurai Mendes back in action. THe guy is very under rated! Heput a whoopin on Kiril “Babay Fedor”, doctor had to stop the fight due to a cut

by john on Dec 17, 2008 10:22 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If he’s not dumb enough to stand with him, i think Schafer can get an arm triangle. I was not impressed with his bottom game against thiago silva.

by NameNotRequired on Dec 17, 2008 8:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

thiago silva controlled mendes on the ground with no trouble i kind of see schafer doing the same …via choke rd. 1 schafer

by wm133 on Dec 16, 2008 11:23 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Silva didn’t “control” Mendes on the ground. Mendes slipped while trying to judo-throw Silva and Silva ended up on top, essentially right in mount where he pounded him out. It was lucky for Silva though as Mendes was out-striking him and had him rocked several times.

Mendes is quite good on the ground from what I hear, and I don’t think he will be easily subbed by Schafer.

by Scott on Dec 16, 2008 11:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

very true….but im saying when silva got him in the mount mendes couldnt do anything …. so if schafer also gets him in the mount by mendes “slipping” i see schafer pounding him out or winning by sub….but mendes could also knock the crap out of schafer standing….good match up we shall see

by wm133 on Dec 17, 2008 12:25 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think that Shafer will be able to submit Mendes if he can get him to the ground, but I don’t know what kind of takedown defense Mendes has. In his fight with Silva he looked like a pretty small LHW, so Shafer might be able to control him if he can get inside. He was able to get Houston Alexander against the fence and he’s a huge LHW.

I think this fight is going to come down to whether or not Mendes can use his footwork to stay away from the cage and utilize his excellent striking. I just don’t know how comfortable he’ll be throwing kicks if he’s worried about getting taken down.

by GregC on Dec 17, 2008 12:38 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Houston Is A Big Puss!!

by DBG on Dec 17, 2008 9:52 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Scott – if you rewatch the you can clearly see Thiago moving in and out of the mount. Mendes showed that he’s not good at keeping his knees up in side mount. He also tries to strike on the bottom instead of defending positions.

by NameNotRequired on Dec 17, 2008 8:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs