Chad Edward Mendes (born May 1, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Wrestling for Hanford High School, Mendes finished 8th in the state of California as a sophomore at 103 lbs in 2001. He placed 5th as a junior at 112 lbs in 2002. And 3rd as a senior at a 119 lbs in 2003. Mendes was also a Cadet All-American.

Mendes wrestled for Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA. He finished his career with an overall record of 64-14. As a senior, Mendes finished the year with a 30-1 record; he placed 2nd in the 2008 NCAA championships at 141 lb., falling to Ohio State's J Jaggers in the title match. That year, Mendes was Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year. Mendes also received All-American honors in 2006, finishing 6th at 125 lb.

Structurally, Chad Mendes is knows to apply the Lay-and-Pray fighting methodology within his strategic and tactical approach to each MMA bout. This is primarily due to his extensive wrestling background with limited experience in the area of various striking and submission arts.

Chad ⁱ/ˈtʃæd/ (French: Tchad, Arabic: تشاد‎ Tšād), officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Due to its distance from the sea and its largely desert climate, the country is sometimes referred to as the "Dead Heart of Africa".

Chad is divided into multiple regions: a desert zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre and a more fertile Sudanese savanna zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the largest wetland in Chad and the second largest in Africa. Chad's highest peak is the Emi Koussi in the Sahara, and N'Djamena, (formerly Fort-Lamy), the capital, is the largest city. Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. Arabic and French are the official languages. Islam and Christianity are the most widely practiced religions.

Beginning in the 7th millennium BC, human populations moved into the Chadian basin in great numbers. By the end of the 1st millennium BC, a series of states and empires rose and fell in Chad's Sahelian strip, each focused on controlling the trans-Saharan trade routes that passed through the region. France conquered the territory by 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa.

Mendes (Μένδης), the Greek name of the Ancient Egyptian city of Djedet, also known in Ancient Egypt as Per-Banebdjedet ("The Domain of the Ram Lord of Djedet") and Anpet, is known today as Tell El-Ruba (Arabic: تل الربع‎).

The city is located in the eastern Nile delta (30°57′30″N 31°30′57″E / 30.95833°N 31.51583°E / 30.95833; 31.51583) and was the capital of the 16th Lower Egyptian nome of Kha, until it was replaced by Thmuis in Greco-Roman Egypt. The two cities are only several hundred meters apart. During the 29th dynasty, Mendes was also the capital of Ancient Egypt, which lies on the Mendesian branch of the Nile (now silted up), about 35 km east of al-Mansurah.

Ronda Rousey (born February 1, 1987) is an American judoka and mixed martial artist and the current Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion. She has finished all of her opponents by armbar in the first round. She formerly trained at the Olympic Training Center in Wakefield, Massachusetts under guidance of Jimmy Pedro and is now part of Team Hayastan in Santa Monica, California.

Rousey trains under Gokor Chivichyan and Edmond Tarverdyan of the Glendale Fighting Club in Glendale, CA. Rousey also trains with Leo Frincu and Gene Lebell, along with Team Hayastan fighters such as Manny Gamburyan, Karen Darabedyan, Sako Chivitchian and Sevak Magakian. She is managed by Darin Harvey of Fight Tribe MMA.

Rousey is currently the #1-ranked pound-for-pound female MMA fighter in the world by MMARising.com, and is ranked #1 at 135 pounds and #2 at 145 pounds according to the Unified Women's MMA Rankings.

At just 17, Rousey qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, becoming the youngest judo player in the entire Games. Also in 2004, Rousey won a gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Judo Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

José Aldo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒoˈzɛ ˈawdu]; born September 9, 1986) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is the first and current UFC Featherweight Champion. Aldo was also the fourth and final WEC Featherweight Champion. His only career loss has been to Luciano Azevedo.

Aldo is ranked as the #1 featherweight in the world by Sherdog and #4 in their pound for pound list. He was also named the 2009 Fighter of the Year.

Known by the nickname "Junior", José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júnior fought his first professional MMA fight at the age of seventeen at EcoFight 1 on August 10, 2004. He fought fellow countryman and newcomer Mário Bigola, whom he defeated by knockout (head-kick) eighteen seconds into the first round. It would be Bigola's first and only professional fight.

Aldo fought fellow Brazilian Hudson Rocha, in his second fight for Shooto Brazil. The fight was ended by doctor stoppage at the end of the first round due to a cut over Rocha's left eye, which was caused by a flying knee thrown by Aldo followed by a barrage of punches. Rocha was able to get back to his feet only to be met with more strikes and a knee before Aldo kicked his legs out from under him.