5. Wrestling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOWOf-IMGzU The most important attribute to have in MMA today is wrestling. Mendes is arguably the best wrestler in the featherweight division. He is a division one wrestler, who also received All-American honors in 2006. Now MMA wrestling has proven to be different from college wrestler, so I'm not going to rest on those credentials. If you look at his past fights, particularly from back in the WEC. Mendes knows how to take his opponent down and impose his will in top control. Besides Frankie Edgar, Aldo has never really faced a top-level wrestler like Mendes. One major difference between Edgar and Mendes is that Mendes is physically stronger. He also possesses one-punch knockout power unlike Edgar. That puts his opponents on notice to be wary of being either double legged or receiving an overhand right. His ability to change levels is also tough to solve. Nik Lentz is an outstanding wrestler, yet Mendes took him down consistently. From his explosiveness to knockout power, hes a matchup nightmare for practically anyone. Despite his five foot six frame, it hasnt hindered him in his career. His 16-1 record tends to go unnoticed by analysts, who rate the best fighters at featherweight. Hes been near perfect in his career with his wrestling propelling him the most. We saw that in the first fight based on how he controlled Aldo through the first round and being able to throw him around a bit. Eventually he got careless and left himself open, which leads to the second reason.