UFC 164 results: Chad Mendes drops and stops Clay Guida in round three

Chad Mendes, perhaps the best Featherweight fighter on the planet not named Jose Aldo, returned to the Octagon tonight (Sat., Aug. 31, 2013) at UFC 164, which took place at BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisc., to teach Clay Guida how top Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 145-pound contenders get it done.

Did he ever.

Mendes was riding a three-fight knockout win streak since his loss to UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo in Jan. 2012, while Guida most recently got back in the win column with an unpopular split decision over Hatsu Hioki earlier this year after suffering back-to-back losses to Gray Maynard and Ben Henderson.

Make it four straight for "Money."

Guida came out pushing the pace, his trademark locks all over the place thanks to his herky-jerky style. Mendes calmly bounced in response, cocking his fists and eyeing an opportunity to explode them on Guida's face.

The match briefly made it to the floor, with Mendes locking up a power guillotine that Guida was able to spin out of and get back to his feet.

Mendes began to get in a groove on his feet with about 90 seconds remaining in the round, while Guida missed wildly with looping hooks. Mendes scored a takedown and dished out some decent ground-and-pound to close out the frame.

In the second, Guida came out kicking, which Mendes countered with his fists. One of those kicks -- of the jumping front variety -- landed between Mendes' legs, forcing a brief stoppage. On the restart, Guida dove for a takedown, but Mendes was able to avoid it, reverse position and drop in a few hard knees to the body before assuming the middle of the cage.

Guida went for another shot, but again. Mendes defended well and punished "The Carpenter" for his effort. Mendes continued to rough up Guida along the cage, but it didn't seem to slow him down as he continued to press the action until the round ended.

The action to start round three was immediate, with Guida coming out strong, but then retreating after eating a huge combination of shots. It was a clean right hand that initially dropped him, but then another bomb along the fence sent him to the floor.

Mendes pounced with a flurry as Guida turtled up along the cage and unloaded several more haymakers that resulted in the first technical knockout finish of the former Lightweight inside the Octagon.

Impressive.

For complete UFC 164: "Henderson vs. Pettis 2" results, including play-by-play coverage of the entire PPV event, click here.