Any combat sport carries an inherent risk of danger to one’s physical well-being, but former UFC title challenger Chad Mendes believes he’s about to enter a safer competitive environment.

Recently, Mendes announced his return to combat sports, but surprisingly, the UFC veteran will not return to MMA where he made his name, but will instead take off the gloves to compete in bare-knuckle boxing.

“It was definitely something that took a little persuading, for sure,” Mendes said about overcoming his wife’s apprehensions about bare-knuckle. “She’s still not 100% in on it, but she’s very supportive of anything that I want to do. She’s like, ‘Are you kidding me? I thought we were done with all of this?’”

The decision took some convincing, but he laid out some valid points to convince his wife that bare-knuckle boxing is less dangerous than MMA. This has also been a larger topic of discussion in combat sports circles, not just for safety reasons, but to also extend the careers of former MMA competitors.

“I think MMA is honestly a lot more dangerous,” Mendes said. “You got people throwing head kicks whizzing past your head or connecting (and it’s) lights out. You’ve got big knees, elbows, people running submissions and tearing tendons and ligaments.”

One thing is for certain, there are definitely fewer methods of attack to worry about in a boxing match than inside the realm of MMA. However, the only true way to eliminate risks associated with fighting is to not fight at all. Mendes believes that focusing on just one aspect of martial arts will be beneficial, regardless if the fists are shrouded in a few ounces of padding or not.

Throughout his 14-fight UFC tenure, Mendes won six bouts via early stoppage from punches, despite his background as a wrestler.

“Really, I gotta focus on boxing now,” Mendes explained. “They’re short rounds and the concussion is gonna be the exact same. You take a bare knuckle, and you put an MMA glove on it, and you’ve got half an inch or less of padding. So, it’s not like you have a full boxing glove that kind of eats some of that, it’s gonna be pretty much the same thing.”

Bare-knuckle boxing takes a toll on the hands due to a lack of protection as competitors are only allowed to use tape on their hands and wrists. Per BKFC rules, the fighters are not allowed to wrap their hands within one inch of the knuckle.

“I think the difference is that you’re knuckles are sharp, so there’s gonna be a lot more cuts, which is associated with brutality and blood,” Mendes explained. “People are like, ‘Oh my god it’s brutal!’ But, you know, I’ve been cut in the UFC, head kicks, and blood all over my face, and it’s just part of the job, man.

“That’s something we have to expect from time to time and just put it behind us and keep going.”

As far as relaying all of this information to his wife, Mendes did well enough to at least get her blessing to proceed.

“I think explaining that to her definitely helped a bit, so we’ll see,” Mendes said. “I don’t think she’s gonna be able to watch it though.”

Watch the full interview with Mendes in the video below.