Mendes sets own timetable

Mendes was announced as the next challenger to Aldo’s belt, but the champion is injured and won’t be able to fight at UFC 133 on Aug. 6 in Philadelphia.

So Mendes agreed to face Rani Yahya instead.

“Sitting out eight or nine months to maybe fight Jose is just not in my cards. It’s not really something I want to do,” Mendes said. “I want to get in there and fight. I want to put on a show for the fans. It’s fun for me to get in there and beat people up.”

Mendes pointed out that he never had an official contract offer to fight Aldo.

“It was all hearsay. It was never a sure thing. I’m a guy that likes to take the sure thing,” he said.

Mendes said he expects to beat Yahya and be ready to fight Aldo for the belt as soon as Aldo is healthy. Even if Mendes loses to Yahya, he isn’t worried about the consequences.

“Everything happens for a reason. If for whatever reason, I did happen to lose to Yahya, it wasn’t meant to be,” Mendes said. “I truly believe my time will come. I’m going to get that title shot soon enough. I’m in there having fun, getting better with every fight, so I’m looking forward to what’s in my future.”

Nevertheless, Mendes is confident he’ll defeat Yahya.

“I think it’s a great matchup for me and a bad matchup for him,” Mendes said. “He is kind of a desperate fighter. He desperately shoots trying to get guys to the ground and he doesn’t really have an explosive shot. He just kind of shoots to try to get a hold of a limb and just drag you down.

“I really pride myself on my defense. My ground game is what I’m good at. He’s a black belt in jiujitsu, but if wrestling had black belts, I’d be a black belt, too.”

■ LESNAR SURGERY — Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar underwent surgery Thursday to treat a second occurrence of diverticulitis.

Lesnar had 12 inches of his colon removed in the procedure. He opted against a more drastic surgery the first time he was stricken in late 2009.

UFC president Dana White indicated the organization’s biggest pay-per-view draw could be back in action by January.

■ TUF 14 COACHES — Michael Bisping and Jason “Mayhem” Miller were chosen as the opposing coaches for Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Filming begins in Las Vegas in June and the two will meet at the finale of the show in December on Spike TV instead of a pay-per-view card.

Bisping was expected to be matched up against Chael Sonnen, but Sonnen’s licensing problems in California prevented him from participating.

Miller has had only one fight in the UFC, a loss to Georges St. Pierre in 2005. He was re-signed last month and was expected to face Aaron Simpson at UFC 132 on July 2. That bout is off.

What Miller lacks in UFC experience, he makes up in television acumen. He is the host of “Bully Beatdown” on MTV.

■ HENDERSON-FEDOR SET — Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker officially announced a long-rumored bout between Dan Henderson and Fedor Emelianenko will be on July 30 outside Chicago.

The fight will be contested at heavyweight, so Henderson’s Strikeforce light heavyweight belt will not be at stake.

The event will air on Showtime, Coker said.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.