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.





Source UFC fighter Chad Mendes bar fight charges dropped