Street Fighter’s new GOAT says his biggest challenge is still ahead with Daigo

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MenaRD proved he’s one of the best Street Fighter players ever by leading Team Bandits to win the 2025 US Finals, and he plans to keep competing.

Dominican Republic’s Saul Leonardo ‘MenaRD’ Mena II is one of the most successful Street Fighter players in the world. He’s won Evo three times and is the only player to ever win the Capcom Cup twice.

He had an incredible 2025, achieving victories at Evo Japan, Evo Las Vegas, and the Street Fighter League US Pro-US Finals. He secured the championship in a thrilling match against Victor ‘Punk’ Woodley.

This match really highlighted how much control Mena now has over the game. He consistently countered everything Punk did, even when Punk desperately tried changing characters from Cammy to Akuma to throw him off.

After his amazing win, we talked to MenaRD about being considered one of the greatest Street Fighter players of all time, alongside legends like Daigo, Tokido, and Nuki.

MenaRD is embracing his status as the new GOAT of Street Fighter

Mena surprisingly shared that he’s comfortable being known as a fighting game legend, and he’s still driven to achieve more. He specifically named winning a third Capcom Cup, succeeding at Evo France, and becoming the Esports World Cup Champion as his goals.

It’s still surreal,” he said. “I dreamed about this when I was younger, and now it’s actually happening – for a while now, actually. But I feel like I’m not finished yet. There’s always more to strive for, so I need to stay focused and keep practicing to reach my full potential.

I’m just relieved and at peace now. I’m glad I could help my friends, and I know I would have been really upset if things had gone the other way. It feels good to have earned this sense of calm.

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MenaRD says Daigo “isn’t prepared” for his skills in long-awaited FT10 match

One of his biggest goals is to achieve something remarkable as a Street Fighter player: winning a ten-round match against Daigo Umehara, considered one of the best in the world.

Daigo is a legendary Japanese gamer, considered one of the original professional players and a top figure in the fighting game community – often called one of the ‘Five Gods.’ Although he doesn’t compete as actively in the newest Street Fighter games, he’s still incredibly skilled at older titles like Third Strike, the Alpha series, and Street Fighter IV.

Daigo is famous for winning long matches against top Street Fighter players, often in first-to-ten rounds, and sometimes defeating them so convincingly that they become visibly upset.

Hey there! I just wanted to say I think you’re absolutely amazing when it comes to getting ready for long matches in Street Fighter. Seriously, your win record speaks for itself – you become a force to be reckoned with when you’re prepping for an opponent. It would be a dream come true if…

— WBG MenaRD🇩🇴(最強) (@_MenaRD__) February 13, 2025

Several months ago, MenaRD officially asked Daigo for a chance to play a friendly match where the first to win ten games would be declared the winner. As of today, the match hasn’t been scheduled, but MenaRD believes it will happen soon, and he’s confident he’ll be victorious when it does.

He believes it will happen this year. While he’s prepared to be patient indefinitely, he’s optimistic about it arriving within the current year.

I’m completely confident – I’d rate myself a 10 out of 10. I expect my opponent will be tougher than people anticipate, but I don’t think he’ll be ready for how strong I’ll be in that set. He won’t see it coming.

Okay, so now I’m super excited to see Mena get ready for Capcom Cup and the Street Fighter League World Finals! Team Bandits is going to be up against Ninjas in Pyjamas from Europe, and whoever wins the qualifier in Japan. It’s going to be an amazing showdown!

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2025-12-08 22:19