"Eating them building blocks" - Chad Mendes' "jacked" avatar during BKFC weigh-in triggers shockwaves through MMA Twitter

Chad Mendes had a lengthy career in mixed martial arts before retiring after his UFC 232 second-round TKO loss to Alexander Volkanovski in 2018. Three years later, the three-time former title challenger announced that he would come out of retirement to join Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

Twitter user @mmauncensored1 recently shared footage of 'Money' weighing in for one of his previous BKFC bouts, captioning the post:

"Bareknuckle Chad Mendes Jackked 💪🏼 👀"

Check out MMA UNCENSORED's tweet below:

Fans responded to the footage by suggesting that Mendes may be on steroids. @randomguy_6 changed the post's caption:

"BareRoid Chad Mendes Jackked"

@maurecesduboc humorously claimed that he is eating 'building blocks:'

"Eating them building blocks! 🧱 🏠"

@chriskhairalla believes that the lack of USADA has an effect on his physique:

"I guess that's what no USADA does to a person"

@InkItright suggested that he is on steroids:

"Didnt he retire???? Sidenote bro is juiced to his ears"

@The_Real_Sehorn joked that Mendes should be tested for psoriasis cream, which he claimed was the cause of his failed 2016 USADA test:

"Check him for psoriasis cream"

@UFCHedgeFund claimed that the former title challenger is on trenbolone:

"Chad Trendes"

@Icomm1tTaxFraud believes that Mendes has a small wingspan:

"Hes got the wingspan of a newborn"

@JMcManus27 stated that Mendes' new physique is the product of chicken and broccoli:

"Nothing to see here, just hard work and eating right. Chicken and broccoli does wonders"

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Has Chad Mendes retired from combat sports?

Chad Mendes returned to combat sports after a retirement that lasted more than three years when he joined BKFC. The three-time title challenger made his debut at BKFC: KnuckleMania 2, defeating Joshuah Alvarez via fourth-round TKO. After more than a year away, he returned to face Eddie Alvarez at BKFC 41.

Unfortunately, he lost the bout via split decision, winning Fight of the Night and Fight of the Year honors. Following the fight, Mendes announced his retirement from combat sports, stating:

"I've been going back and forth with this. Obviously I retired from the UFC back in 2018, and I was honestly done. I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into a few businesses and just spending the family quality time that I love doing. I had no desire [to fight], but something like this came up, and obviously the pay is really good, and it’s something that’s new, which kind of excited me, so I did it."

He continued:

"I was done after that first one, but then they dangled somebody like this dude [Eddie Alvarez] in front of me, so I was like, ‘All right, I’ll do one more. This could be the retirement fight.' I just don’t need to be doing this s**t anymore. It’s fun, but I feel like at this point I’m just being selfish. I’ve got a solid family that loves me, and I’ve got other things in the works that I pour my heart and soul into to be successful at. But man, that was one hell of a fight." [h/t MMA Junkie]

Several months later, BKFC President David Feldman suggested that Chad Mendes could be back with the promotion in 2024. It is unclear if he will continue his combat sports.