Chad Mendes maintained his innocence from the moment he was linked to a bar fight in Hanford, California. Earlier today, the local district attorney agreed with "Money," dropping the misdemeanor battery charge against the former number one UFC featherweight contender.

Chad Mendes -- who was "shocked and surprised" when he was being pursued by authorities for allegedly uncorking a sucker punch in a bar room brawl -- has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

The local district attorney today dropped the misdemeanor battery charge that he was facing; however, he still had to cough up the "Money" on a lesser infraction of disturbing the peace, according to MMAWeekly.com.

Mendes, a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight number one contender, had this to say after having his day in court:

"I have said from the beginning that the outrageous allegations published by the media were either false or incredibly sensationalized. Today's outcome proves it."

Mendes is coming off a dominant first round stoppage victory over Cody McKenzie at UFC 148: "Silva vs. Sonnen 2" this past July 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He is currently booked to fight Hacran Dias -- a highly regarded Brazilian prospect coming out of Nova Uniao -- in a real, sanctioned 145-pound bout at UFC on FX 6, which will take place at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in Broadbeach, Gold Coast, Australia, on Dec. 14, 2012.





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