Chad Mendes determined to avoid gatekeeper label at UFC 232

Chad Mendes knows what everyone is thinking.
A long layoff. Back-to-back bookings against lesser known opponents. His 10th anniversary as a pro fighter having just passed.
If Mendes’s next fight is any indication, he’s not being pushed to compete for a UFC title, something the 33-year-old has had the opportunity to do on three occasions. And it’s entirely possible Mendes is actually being used to prop up the résumé of Alexander Volkanovski, his opponent Saturday