MMA-URLS

There's nothing I could say about last night's Strikeforce title fight of Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson that hasn't already been said by UGer, Neil McCauley, in this thread on The Underground. In just one swift post, the guy encapsulated my entire belief system regarding the outcome of Melendez's sixth consecutive title defense. This Neil McCauley then went on to make an even more accurate statement within the message board thread, securing my complete admiration for his way of thought. I'm sure he's probably a giant dork normally, but last night he was a friggin' superstar. The truth is, no one in the UFC can run through Josh Thomson, and people that expected Gilbert to completely demolish a guy that's only been finished once in his career is just an unrealistic notion. As far as the entire 'Kawajiri thing' people have brought up -- last year I sat next to Thomson on my way from Singapore to Tokyo and we discussed his Dynamite!! 2010 bout with Kawajiri. He essentially told me he was lured into the fight on very short notice due to the enormous amount of money DREAM offered (and actually paid) him. I'm sure if that bout went down again, the result may be different -- but that goes with everything in MMA. The point of all of this is that it's completely disrespectful to boo anyone that put on an incredible performance for your price of admission. It also goes without saying that if your fiancé is muay-thai fighter Kerri Ann Taylor, all the moronic fans will be taken care of as illustrated in this following video.

Posted in: title defense, gilbert, belief system, fianc é, friggin superstar

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Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez remained the undisputed Strikeforce Lightweight champion, after five rounds of war with Josh "The Punk" Thomson at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Both fighters had their moments during the fight, but it was Gilbert Melendez who won on judges' scorecards via split decision 47-48, 48-47, 48-47. Melendez looked impressive on his feet, constantly changing levels, and tagging Thomson with a lot of strikes. But Thomson proved he can take a punch, as Gilbert Melendez quickly

Posted in: gilbert melendez, melendez, gilbert, thomson, punk thomson

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The Strikeforce lightweight title is on the line with two warriors gear up for their trilogy fight this Saturday night (May 19, 2012) as 155 pound champion Gilbert Melendez looks to defend his belt against Josh Thomson in the co-main event of Strikeforce: "Barnett vs. Cormier" in San Jose, California. Josh Thomson came back from a long layoff to defeat former welterweight title challenger K.J. Noons in his last bout, a performance he wasn't particularly proud of, but he got the title shot anyways due to the lack of depth in the promotion. He has a very interesting history, having spent 50 minutes thus far in the cage against Melendez, splitting their first two bouts and he'd love to win the rubber match. Gilbert Melendez is widely regarded as one of the best lightweights in the world. He's unbeaten in nearly four years and has avenged both of his losses. He still wants to be the number one ranked 155-er and he'll need to have a dominant showing against Thomson, the last man to beat him, if he wants to prove it. Will "El Nino" bring the heat against Thomson on Saturday night? Can Thomson gut through his nagging injuries and pull off the upset? What's the key to victory for both men this weekend? Let's find out: Josh Thomson Record: 19-4 (1 no contest) overall, 10-2 in Strikeforce Key Wins: Gilbert Melendez (Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson), Pat Healy (Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum), K.J. Noons (Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey) Key Losses: Gilbert Melendez (Strikeforce: Evolution), Tatsuya Kawajiri (Dynamite!! 2010), Yves Edwards (UFC 49) How he got here: Josh Thomson, now 33 years old, has been competing in mixed martial arts professionally since 2001. After just six fights, he was already making his UFC debut in 2003, which was right before the promotion shut down the division for a few years. "The Punk" went 2-1 in the UFC before transitioning to Strikeforce where, after losing a title fight against Clay Guida in his debut, he was able to take over the division with an eight fight winning streak which included capturing the title and defending it twice, even defeating Gilbert Melendez in a thrilling five round battle. Unfortunately for the American Kickboxing Academy product, Thomson would suffer a series of leg injuries which forced Strikeforce to create an interim championship, and he would lose his title to Gilbert Melendez in his return. Since losing hit belt, Thomson has narrowly squeaked past Pat Healy and JZ Cavalcante and was defeated by Tatsuya Kawajiri. He's had his Strikeforce return delayed by another long string of injuries but was finally healthy and ground out an ugly decision in his last bout against Noons to earn his shot. How he gets it done: Josh Thomson is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades. He's got a very well-rounded game and, when healthy, he's one of the most dangerous lightweights in the world. In the stand-up department, he should really focus on bringing back those brutal push kicks which were so effective in the first fight with Gilbert Melendez. He got away from them in the rematch and he hasn't really gone back to them much, but they are really powerful and can keep "El Nino" off-balance. I'd highly recommend he not stand and trade punches with Melendez in the pocket as he'll just be asking for trouble. Thomson likely has a short window in this fight so if he wants to make something happen, he needs to do it early. I don't know what his cardio will be like, but his best round the last time against Melendez was the first and he'll likely only have 10 minutes tops before Melendez completely takes over so he has to make the most of it. Gilbert Melendez Record: 20-2 overall, 10-1 in Strikeforce Key Wins: Shinya Aoki (Strikeforce: Nashville), Clay Guida (Strikeforce: Revenge), Tatsuya Kawajiri 2x (Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley, Pride Shockwave 2006) Key Losses: none How he got here: Gilbert Melendez had his first professional fight in the WEC, actually becoming the first Strikeforce lightweight champion in just his fourth professional bout. After a terrific run in Shooto, Melendez would debut in Strikeforce, eventually defeating Clay Guida to capture the Strikeforce lightweight title. After losing his Strikeforce title to Josh Thomson in the middle of 2008, Gilbert would go on to win the interim title and then avenge both of his career losses to Mitsuhiro Ishida and Thomson, unifying the belts in the process. The Cesar Gracie fighter handily defeated consensus number two-ranked lightweight (at the time), Shinya Aoki, on national television at Strikeforce in Nashville last April. Melendez accepted a title defense against Kawajiri on relatively late notice last year and then absolutely thrashed him with a first round technical knockout victory. He made great use of the new unified rules Strikeforce employed, blasting "Crusher" with a series of elbows to the head. There were rumors of him joining many of his fellow champions in the UFC, but instead he defended his belt against Jorge Masvidal in a rather lackluster affair. After Nate Diaz gave him a tremendous shoutout on national television, calling him the best in the world at lightweight, Melendez will have a shot to prove it on Saturday night. How he gets it done: Where he once stood a sloppy, brawling wrestler, now stands as a very aggressive and technically sound striker. Melendez can pick his opponents apart with his jab or he can lunge inside and go to work with his powerful and precise hooks. He's got a multitude of weapons at his disposal and don't be surprised one bit to see him really utilize his elbows, even standing if the fight enters the clinch or gets up close and personal. Melendez still has the wrestling base to fall back on, but I don't expect him to go to the ground unless he hurts Thomson standing. He's going to be using his footwork to create an opening to pounce inside and land big strikes. He wants to prove he's the best lightweight in the world and he can't afford to slip here. Expect Melendez to be very aggressive, perhaps even leaving himself open to counters simply because he wants to continue making statements. After having gone the distance against Thomson the last two times around, there would be no bigger statement than if he can finish "The Punk" early in the first. Fight X-Factor: The biggest X-Factor for this fight has to be the injuries, age and the wear and tear on Josh Thomson. He looked great the first time he faced Melendez but that seems like an eternity ago now. He's gone through so many leg, foot and knee injuries since that he is not going to have the same hop in his step, the same conditioning, the same power or the same anything. Melendez, however, is still very much in his prime and has looked solid in his last few fights. If Thomson isn't 100 percent, he might be on the receiving end of a serious beatdown, especially as this fight moves into the later rounds Bottom Line: I expect both men to come out of the gate on fire. The first round of the last Melendez-Thomson fight was one of my favorite rounds of 2010. Both guys can still bring it and they've got a strong history with each other. I expect them to exit their comfort zones in a hurry and get right down to slugging it out and trying to take each other's heads off. However long this fight lasts, it should be entertaining, much more entertaining than Thomson's last bout against Noons. Who will come out on top at Strikeforce: "Barnett vs. Cormier?" Tell us your predictions in the comments below! Poll Who will be the Strikeforce lightweight champion when it is all said and done on Saturday night? Gilbert Melendez Josh Thomson   2 votes | Results

Posted in: fight, strikeforce, melendez, gilbert, thomson

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Helmets? We don’t need no stinkin helmets! Well, at least the Phoenix Coyotes’ Gilbert Brule and Anaheim Ducks’ Corey Perry didn’t when it comes to this entertaining clash from earlier in the season. Tweet

Posted in: gilbert, helmet, hockey fight, perry, brule

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Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson collide next week for the third time. Catch a preview of that fight and highlights from their first two meetings.

Posted in: strikeforce, josh, melendez, gilbert, thomson

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The BJ Penn Vs. Gilbert Melendez fight that never came to be is the hot hypothetical topic to everyone in the MMA world right now, but the MiddleEasy staff was discussing this (at one point very real) matchup in our super secret MiddleEasy email client half a year ago. Yeah, that's right: we have a super secret MiddleEasy email client in which we discuss super secret things. Things like Gilbert Melendez and BJ Penn scrapping for the Strikeforce lightweight title, space plans and why synthetic vitamins aren't good for you (don't eat synthetic vitamins). You can ask Cat Von C: our super secret MiddleEasy email conversations would probably do triple the traffic of MiddleEasy.com, but a lot of that is due to the discussion of things that shall not be discussed publicly. To put it in wizard terms: MiddleEasy email = The Order of the Phoenix. Things talked about in said emails = Voldemort. Many may think the two preceding paragraphs are meant to puff our feathers and display how cool we are. Not true. I guess what I'm trying to get to is this: we were bummed about this fight not happening months ago, and we wanted to share the pain with you - but we couldn't - so now we're kind of over it just as the general public is hearing about it...So yeah. BJ Penn showed his apathy over the Gilbert Melendez situation in an appearance on The MMA Hour. "I guess being a competitor, you always have that itch. But what it is is...it's tough," "The training camps are tough, going through that. I've been with the UFC for ten years going through different things. All the different personalities you gotta deal with. I still look at some of the guys up there and of course being a competitor 'You know, I could beat that guy or I could do well with that guy.' It's just a tough question." "[White] offered a fight against Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce. We sat down and we thought about it for a little while. We talked back and forth. It was kind of one of those things where I guess at the end of the day we thought about it a thousand different ways and we were like 'Is that downgrading yourself fighting in Strikeforce? If you win the Strikeforce title are people going to say you did it because you couldn't win the UFC title?'" "At the end of the day, it just didn't make sense to us," Hopefully at the end of the day, BJ will decide to come back and make us happy while licking his opponent's blood of his gloves. [Source]

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight and Welterweight Champion B.J. Penn fighting under the Strikeforce banner on Showtime? Hawaii don't play dat. Despite an abysmal 1-3-1 record over his last five fights,"The Prodigy" wanted nothing to do with a superfight against reigning Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez, who's riding out his current contract in the bowels of San Jose. Penn wasn't scared, just retired. UFC President Dana White (via MMA Fighting) explains what happened, after the jump. "Gilbert Melendez is a Strikeforce fighter and he's been great dealing with it. He wants to come over [to the UFC] and he wants to challenge himself against the best and I know a lot of other people want to see it too, but he's in that Strikeforce deal. I tried to do [Melendez vs. Penn], but it was at a time when BJ was like 'Yeah, I'm not fighting for awhile.' The thing that sucks for Gilbert is that I was 100 percent fired up and gung ho to go over there and work on Strikeforce, but the whole thing fell apart." Penn came up short as the main event headliner for UFC 137 back on Oct. 29, 2011, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The unanimous decision win for Nick Diaz, which left Penn battered and bruised, sent him straight into an Interim title bout against Carlos Condit at UFC 143. And sent "The Prodigy" straight into retirement. Penn said he'll be back "if he ever feels it again," which could lead White to move forward with plans to bring his mixed martial arts (MMA) brand to Hawaii. Stay tuned.

Posted in: ufc, strikeforce, penn, melendez, gilbert

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Dana White sat down with the media following the UFC on FOX 3 pre-fight press conference to talk about a variety of topics including Ronda Rousey, King Mo, Gilbert Melendez and more. Video via MMA Fighting

Posted in: melendez, gilbert, king, rousey, ronda

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Gilbert Melendez has dominated the Strikeforce lightweight division for several years now. So, when it was announced that “El Nino” would be fighting on the upcoming May 19 card from San Jose, rumors of a lightweight from the UFC entering Strikeforce heated up. However, it wasn’t Anthony Pettis or BJ Penn named for Melendez. No, [...]

Posted in: bj penn, gilbert melendez, melendez, gilbert, josh thomson

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Something tells me that if Gilbert's last name wasn't 'Melendez,' people would have never called him 'El Nino.' It's probably something that FOX News created in order to invalidate Gilbert Melendez's status as an American. They could have called Gil 'Quasiperiodic Southern Oscillation' and prevent cheap pandering to his cultural heritage. If it was Gilbert 'Quasiperiodic Southern Oscillation' Melendez, we could make a top ten list just from the amount of announcers that would have screwed up his moniker throughout his career. Damn, FOX News always throws salt in our game -- and then claims we're supporting terrorism by accepting it. This article got off to an unnecessarily harsh political start. Basically what we're trying to say is if Gilbert Melendez was sponsored by FOX News, then Gilbert Melendez is no longer sponsored by FOX News. We just sort of ruined that for the Strikeforce lightweight champion. He'll thank us for it later when those guys all turn into Sith lords that seek control of the Galactic Empire. We'll stand on the sidelines with light sabers and star in two really dope sequels and one whack one (sorry Amanda Lucas). Actually, no one at MiddleEasy has any problem with FOX News. I just needed to write something before I show you this video of Gilbert Melendez talking to LayzieTheSavage in his newly built gym.

Posted in: fox, gilbert melendez, fox news, melendez, gilbert

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Trilogies seem to be the theme of 2012 so add one more to the list. On May 19, Gilbert Melendez will defend his Strikeforce lightweight title against old foe Josh Thomson as part of the upcoming even headed to San Jose.

Posted in: strikeforce, josh, melendez, gilbert, thomson

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Gilbert Yvel continued his career resurrection with another victory at light heavyweight at Friday night's RFA 2 in Kearney, Neb.

Posted in: light heavyweight, gilbert, yvel, rfa, career resurrection

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Ready to open the door if the UFC comes knocking, Houston Alexander first has plans to try and break UFC and Pride veteran Gilbert Yvel in the main event of Resurrection FA.

Posted in: ufc, houston, gilbert, houston alexander, gilbert yvel

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Gilbert Melendez looks to get back in action on May 19, but who will he face? According to his coach, they are hoping for a UFC transfer like BJ Penn or Anthony Pettis.

Posted in: bj penn, gilbert melendez, melendez, gilbert, ufc transfer

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Gilbert Melendez will get a top notch opponent for his next fight, but he will be remaining in Strikeforce for the foreseeable future.

Posted in: strikeforce, gilbert melendez, melendez, gilbert, notch opponent

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Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez talks to HeavyMMA's Megan Olivi in Japan about cornering Jake Shields against Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 144 and what will be next for him.

Posted in: ufc, jake shields, melendez, gilbert, yoshihiro akiyama

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There's not a day that goes by when I don't slam my head against a hard surface thinking of the possibilities of Gilbert Melendez fighting in the UFC. It's about as frustrating as trying to type the word 'archipelago' without checking the spelling on Google. See, even there I had to spell check it. In a sense, calculators are to math as spell check is to the entire English language. In reality, the assistance of computers just makes us less reliant on our cognitive abilities, and eventually our entire planet is just going to turn into a society of mentally dull drones that would be nothing without relying on computers. Damn, this article got off to a depressing start. That definitely wasn't my intention. Just check out this video of Scott Coker being asked a multitude of Gilbert Melendez related questions -- and try to stay away from that spell check today. Humanity deserves better.

Posted in: check, scott coker, gilbert melendez, melendez, gilbert

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They say give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. If you give Gilbert Yvel a referee, he'll right hook him in the ear and soccer kick him on the mat. Gilbert Yvel wasn't born. He just ripped through his mother's womb and started ground and pounding the doctor. He's undoubtedly the rawest fighter to ever enter a ring and now I will issue a general warning to everyone reading this: Gilbert Yvel vs. Houston Alexander is going down March 30th in friggin' Nebraska! Resurrection Fighting Alliance has announced the fight will headline the promotion's second event. The bout will be contested at light heavyweight. As of today, it's impossible to watch the match unless you reside in Nebraska or just have an extreme obsession with taking a road trip to the middle of nowhere. Don't be surprised if Gilbert jumps in the cage with a Klingon deathsword and starts slicing every neck within a mile of him. Even if that happened, I wouldn't be surprised. It's Gilbert Yvel, man. It shouldn't surprise anyone. The guy has been disqualified for biting (Mike Tyson style) and my personal favorite, eye gouging. Gilbert Yvel isn't out there to win, he's out to claim souls. Props to Chris G. for the find.

Posted in: gilbert, yvel, mothers womb, soccer kick, gilbert jumps

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It's only appropriate that we start off 2012 with a topic that we've been endlessly discussing since 2009. Back then, the essential lightweight fight everyone salivated over was a cross-promotional bout between Strikeforce's Gilbert Melendez and Bellator's Eddie Alvarez. People initially believed that if the bout did happen, the primary issue would be over what promotion would retain broadcast rights for the event. That was until Bjorn Rebney publicly stated that he was willing to relinquish the idea of a co-promotion and was even open to having the event in Strikeforce at San Jose, CA. Weeks went by, then Bjorn Rebney insisted that Scott Coker was ducking the text messages he sent regarding Melendez vs. Alvarez. Scott Coker denied receiving the texts, then Bjorn Rebney released pictures of the texts from his phone -- and all talks just sort of collapsed. Now fast forward a couple years to 2012 into the post-ZUFFA Strikeforce era that we all inhabit. Gilbert Melendez still remains locked into a Strikeforce contract (while riding a 6-0 winning streak) and Michael Chandler toppled Eddie Alvarez to be the new Bellator lightweight champion at Bellator 58. Unfortunately, whatever luster Melendez vs. Alvarez once had is no more. It's finished, like all of those hopes and dreams you wanted to accomplish in 2011. Maybe you need to take it easy on the innumerable cans of Pringles you consume while watching Harry and the Hendersons. We're in 2012, the year of the Mayan prophecy -- and Gilbert Melendez is still not in the UFC. Those Mayans probably saw it coming. Damn them and their incredibly unique clairvoyance. We caught up with Scott Coker to discuss the future of Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce along with a few other topics I'm sure you'll find interesting.

Posted in: strikeforce, gilbert melendez, melendez, gilbert, bjorn rebney

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Or so says Strikeforce CEO and General Manager Scott Coker, who is, admittedly enough, not an unbiased observer. In a recent conversation with MMAWeekly, Coker gave his take on the match-up we may never see, Gilbert Melendez vs. Frankie Edgar: "I believe (Melendez) is the number one lightweight in the world. Believe me, those other guys, I take nothing away from them. Listen, styles make fights, and I'm really looking at Frankie Edgar and Gilbert, that match-up as to who would win that fight and how that fight would look. Ben Henderson, Cowboy Cerrone, all those guys are extremely talented, but like I said, styles make fights. I think Gilbert and Frankie would be a great fight, but I think Gilbert would come out on top." It's an intriguing match-up. Melendez is 20-2 in his fighting career, and has avenged both losses. Edgar is 14-1-1 and has avenged the lone defeat of his career. Both are titleholders in their weight class in different promotions but Edgar surely holds the edge in strength of schedule. His finding "the answer" to B.J. Penn in back-to-back bouts is still one of the more impressive feats in MMA. The unfortunate issue in all this is that Strikeforce just recently re-upped with Showtime to continue broadcasting events on the network. The promotion needs a face and that honor has been given to Melendez. That means no superfights against Edgar, who is preoccupied, anyway. He's got a tough match-up against Ben Henderson coming up on Feb. 26 at UFC 144 in Japan. "El Nino" has said he'll be there, though, always watching and wondering when he'll get his chance to prove Coker correct. If that day ever comes, Maniacs, who are you putting your money on? Melendez or Edgar?

Posted in: fight, melendez, gilbert, edgar, frankie

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Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez made $150,000 for his Saturday win over Jorge Masvidal, and Gegard Mousasi also made $150K for his win over Ovince St. Preux.

Posted in: gegard mousasi, jorge masvidal, gegard, melendez, gilbert

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Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker shared his thoughts about last weekend's fight card in San Diego, California, and the future of the promotion's Lightweight champion Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez. Coker promised "big fights" for Gilbert Melendez, hinting at crossover opponents from what is now a parent promotion - the UFC. Coker currently finds himself with a limited choice of potential challengers for Gilbert Melendez's title, with Caros Fodor (7-1 in MMA, five-fight win streak) currently being the most likely #1

Posted in: melendez, gilbert, coker, crossover opponents, mma fivefight

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This will be our last 3-D interview until we hit Las Vegas for UFC 141. Hopefully by then you will be in possession of a pair of 3-D glasses, and your eyes will be accustomed to viewing the universe in red and blue tones. Jorge Masvidal doesn't care about your ability to view his interview in 3-D. Gamebred only seems to be concerned with breaking down what happened in last night's bout with Strikeforce lightweight champion, Gilbert Melendez. Masvidal also mentions that it was the 'Cuban in him' that made him divert from his game plan and attempt to knock Gilbert's head from his shoulders. Granted, Cuban open-faced sandwiches make me postpone all of my plans, so I understand where Masvidal is coming from.

Posted in: gilbert melendez, masvidal, gilbert, game plan, gilberts head

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Can someone explain why this video of Gilbert Melendez playing as himself in EA Sports MMA against Eddie Alvarez didn't get over 10,000 views on YouTube? It has indistinct, drunken yells from everyone, videogame playage and above all else, it showed Gilbert Melendez TKOing Eddie Alvarez in the first round. Now whether the latter scenario would actually happen is up for debate, but Gilbert Melendez sincerely believes that he's the number one lightweight in mixed martial arts -- and it seems like he will do everything to prove it. Check out this 3-D interview from last night's Strikeforce in which Gilbert Melendez talks about the adjustments he made to fight Jorge Masvidal.

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Gilbert Melendez tells MMAWeekly.com's Erik Fontanez he's confident Strikeforce will find opponents for him.

Posted in: strikeforce, melendez, gilbert, faith, mmaweeklycom

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This weekend's Strikeforce card wasn't the most memorable. In fact, the card did nothing but emphasize the lack of depth in the organization. It was frankly disappointing (much like the Dark Knight Rises prologue). Even the commentary booth seemed disinterested, and unorganized, as if they were offering a play-by-play of a game of Farkle instead of MMA. Perhaps it was warranted, given the action. One of the best prospects at LHW, Ovince St. Preux was blitzed and manhandled by Gegard Mousasi (in addition to being blitzed and manhandled by an impressively incompetent ref). Cris Cyborg, fighting the #2 ranked female in the world, answered the question 'what would happen if Jonathan Goulet got in the cage with Dan Henderson?'. And then Gilbert Melendez dominated one of their most compelling contenders in Jorge Masvidal. First, a word about Gilbert's performance. I have to disagree with my colleague, Matt Roth on this one. I think Melendez was very impressive. Masvidal, for all of his faults (which were on display), is a rugged and talented fighter. He's a good counter puncher, is tough as nails, and well polished overall. And Melendez shut him down. Working his head movement, using angles, and boxing like he wanted a shot against Andre Ward, Masvidal was utterly neutralized. He also displayed some useful quirks: feinting the takedown for an uppercut, and controlling the arm Jorge used to touch the ground in order to avoid knees to the head so as to be a "grounded" opponent. It was frankly, a masterful performance. If Melendez looks "bad" last night, it's because Masvidal had no sense of urgency and seemed only interested in not gambling for victory. You got the feeling Gilbert himself knew this. He knew this was a big fight. He knew the stakes. All things considered, his performance reflects his knowledge of the political landscape he's now a part of. He engaged as much as he could have with his overly patient foe. And so in his post-fight interview, he called out the UFC LW division. Well played Gilbert. But his call to action was inevitable. When rumors persisted that he was coming to the UFC, Melendez perked up: he's historically been one of the few fighters who explicitly acknowledges his status can't be validated until he's part of that misguided and soon to be deceased Gladiator intro. There must have been a slight sting when it was announced that Strikeforce was staying, and Melendez wasn't going anywhere. Gilbert's 'call out' is a microcosm of the Strikeforce dilemma where the Sharks continue to swim with nothing but flounders. Unfortunately he's stuck. A call out, in conjunction with a performance that revealed the gap between himself and their best contenders, was the best course of action Melendez could have taken. But any potential solution that doesn't involve Gilbert going to the UFC will demand either turning over the dirt underneath the rocks for prospects, or sending guys in the UFC to Strikeforce. But who has name value enough to garner interest against Melendez, but not enough name value to incur a cost to the UFC? I hope the brass are thinking about that question. Because Melendez doesn't belong in a cage where Frank Shamrock restricts his contributions to misinterpretations of compustrike statistics. Or where Heido Androl struggles for relevant questions while wearing a dress that makes her look like she was grown on a tree in Papua New Guinea. He belongs in the UFC. Poll Was Gilbert's performance enough to convince you he deserves a UFC title shot? Yes. I thought it was a good technical performance worth rewarding. No. Low connect percentage, and he failed to mix it up with takedowns.   4 votes | Results

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Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez won again Saturday. Now he says he must continue to put faith in Strikeforce that he'll get tested.

Posted in: strikeforce, gilbert melendez, melendez, gilbert, strikeforce tests

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Jorge Masvidal was looked upon as the fighter that was going to put Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez to the test. While he did take the champion to the five round limit, you would be hard pressed to say he put him to any type of test. Yes, Melendez’s face was far more marked up than that of Masvidal, but the stats told another story as Melendez outstruck Masvidal 145 to 109 and delivered far more power strikes, landing 94 to Masvidal’s 21. Questions after seeing Gilbert

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Gilbert Melendez defeated Jorge Masvidal by a unanimous decision. The judges scored the fight 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46. The first round began when Jorge Masvidal landed a leg kick and Gilbert Melendez countered with an overhand right. Jorge Masvidal taunted and left his chin out calling for Melendez to throw on him. Melendez landed another overhand right. Masvidal landed several jabs and a jumping knee. Gilbert is dropped after a well timed leg kick. Masvidal continued to throw jabs a kick is caught. Melendez takes Masvidal down and then comes up with a standing guillotine. Masvidal ate several knees to the face before escaping. The round ended with them feeling each other out. Melendez opens the second round with punches. Masvidal worked to establish his jab. High kick from Masvidal is blocked by Melendez. Malsvidal is getting picked apart against the fence. Leg kick-1-2 from Melendez. Melendez landed a leg kick. Masvidal with a digging body punch and knee in response. Melendez settled into his pace midway through the round and landed unanswered jabs. The round ended with Melendez landing a jab. In the later rounds the fight slowed to a crawl. Jorge Masvidal just didn't have any desire to push the fight and allowed Gilbert Melendez to pick him off for rounds three and four. In the final round Masvidal fought with urgency but it was too little too late. Gilbert Melendez' victory was certain. Gilbert Melendez defends his belt and picks up a unanimous decision win. In his post-fight interview he called for UFC fighters to challenge him in the hexagon. Jorge Masvidal was unimpressive and picks up a loss after two wins in Strikeforce. SBN coverage of Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal

Posted in: round, gilbert melendez, masvidal, melendez, gilbert

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After tonight, we can make the accurate claim that being filmed by MiddleEasy in 3-D will enable you to successfully defend your championship strap. According to statistics, every fighter filmed by MiddleEasy in 3-D has enjoyed a 100% success rate in their future fights. It's been scientifically proven. There's no arguing about it. Your debating abilities hold no weight here at MiddleEasy. We operate on science -- and Twizzlers. In the candy game, Twizzlers stand alone. It has no clone. Alright, Twizzlers has Red Vines -- but let's pretend they don't exist for the sake of this upcoming segue. In MMA, Gilbert Melendez is authentic. There is no imitation. He's not enriched with vitamins and minerals. Gilbert Melendez is not infused with electrolytes nor does he come contained in a trendy plastic bottle. El Nino stands alone, and tonight he proved it by defeating Jorge Masvidal in a 50-45, 50-45, 49-46 unanimous decision. 49-46? Yes, Cecil Peoples was a judge, but the jokes on you -- it was Big John McCarthy that gave the third round to Jorge Masvidal. At the end of the day, Cecil Peoples is right. Leg kicks don't win fights, but outstriking your opponent by 131 total strikes will. So realistically, what's next for Gilbert Melendez? Dana White insisted that El Nino would remain in Strikeforce even if he did defeat Jorge Masvidal tonight. Some people believed Justin Wilcox would be next in line, but after Caros Fodor decimated him tonight on the prelims in just thirteen seconds, the Strikeforce lightweight picture looks pretty hazy to say the least. During the event, a lot of people were talking about KJ Noons possibly being Gilbert's next opponent at lightweight, but after what some considered a lackluster fight against Billy Evangelista, even that match-up looks awkward. Regardless, massive congratulations to Gilbert Melendez on another successful title defense and hopefully we'll get some more 3-D video with El Nino later tonight.

Posted in: people, gilbert melendez, el nino, melendez, gilbert

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Gilbert Melendez felt validated when he heard Dana White mention his name as one of the top fighters in the sport. Now he wants to prove the UFC President was right about him.

Posted in: right, ufc president, gilbert melendez, melendez, gilbert

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Gilbert Melendez wants to be in the UFC, but he'll settle for beating Jorge Masvidal.

Posted in: ufc, gilbert melendez, gilbert, gilbert melendezthe, melendezthe

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MMAWeekly.com caught up with Gilbert Melendez in San Diego as he prepares for his Strikeforce title defense against Jorge Masvidal.

Posted in: san diego, gilbert melendez, melendez, gilbert, video mmaweeklycom

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This weekend Gilbert Melendez hopes to defend his lightweight title against Jorge Masvidal in San Diego. As with every event Zuffa held a phone conference for the media to ask questions of the fighters. One talking point that Gilbert couldn't escape was his desire to fight in the UFC. He went as far as saying that he believes he'll be in the UFC soon and that talks are on-going to bring him to the "major league" of MMA. He continued his praise of Masvidal as a legitimate opponent but was open about his view that there were no longer any competitive match ups in Strikeforce after Saturday night. Just this week it was finally confirmed that Zuffa will continue to run the Strikeforce product and that it will still air on Showtime. Negotiations between Zuffa and Showtime stalled when the broadcasting partner believed that Zuffa acted in bad faith by signing Strikeforce champions away from the promotion. There is a new deal in place and a major sticking point is that Strikeforce fighters will remain in Strikeforce. Gilbert Melendez will be the sole champion not signed to the UFC. The big question is can he remain relevant in top 10 talks without ever fighting in the UFC? Melendez missed his window. According to the USA Today/MMA Nation rankings, there are two lightweights in the top 25 besides Melendez and he fights one of them on Saturday. The other is Josh Thompson. In fact, 19 of the top 25 lightweights call the UFC home. Following the fight with Masvidal, is it even possible for Melendez to remain relevant in a division that that calls the UFC home? The lightweight landscape changes after every event and with Ben Henderson and Frankie Edgar squaring off in Japan, it's safe to say that Melendez can't continue to be ranked in the top 5 without another top 10 win. There are rumors that Zuffa may start sending UFC fighters to Strikeforce in 2012 to create new match ups in stagnant divisions. However, the issue for Melendez is that no matter who the UFC sends, they won't be top 10 lightweights nor will they be proven draws. Melendez is in MMA purgatory and there is no escape in sight. With the portal to the UFC effectively closed due to renegotations, Melendez is slowly becoming a fighter like Eddie Alvarez, a top talent who isn't fighting people that can truly push him up the rankings. Melendez will face Masvidal this weekend but will it even matter? All this talk of finally fighting in the UFC is now a moot point. Dream fights with Edgar and Maynard surely won't happen and he'd never fight against Ben Henderson who shares the same representation. Gilbert Melendez is slowly going the way of the dinosaurs in a company that won't invest in signing top lightweights to challenge for his belt. Even his title is viewed as a number two with the UFC lightweight belt regarded as the true champion of the division. Hopefully this weekend we'll see the best Gil Melendez because if we don't, I'm not sure we'll ever get the chance to see him against another top tiered talent. SBN coverage of Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal

Posted in: ufc, strikeforce, masvidal, melendez, gilbert

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Gilbert Melendez and Jorge Masvidal will meet this weekend, as Melendez puts his Strikeforce title on the line at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, CA.  What follows is a preview of the main event of Strikeforce’s final card of 2011. Gilbert

Posted in: jorge masvidal, san diego, gilbert melendez, gilbert, strikeforce title

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submitted by alphahouse44 [link] [comment]

Posted in: melendez, gilbert, edgar, frankie, alphahouse

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Preparing to face Jorge Masvidal next month, Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez believes UFC 155-pound champ Frankie Edgar is beatable. Will he be the one to do it?

Posted in: melendez, gilbert, edgar, frankie, month strikeforce

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Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez discusses UFC on FOX, the current lightweight division and how he would fight Frankie Edgar in this exclusive interview.

Posted in: division, interview, melendez, gilbert, frankie edgar

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It would appear that Gilbert Melendez will be making the move to the UFC once he defends his Strikeforce lightweight championship against Jorge Masvidal. While there are plenty of intriguing fights for Melendez at 155, Gilbert is thinking about a big move down the road. That being an eventual long term goal of going up to Welterweight. From the video: "If things go well here, then I might go to 170 you know. Why not? "I can fight at 170 pounds and I know I can beat some guys out there, but there are definitely plenty of challenges at 155 right now. But you know why not have goals in the long term to be one of the best in the world and go to three weight classes. Why not? "I'm not trying to be arrogant; it's just that it's a dream. I'm allowed to dream a little bit and I'm allowed to work for it. So, that's what I mean by that."

Posted in: gilbert melendez, gilbert, weight classes, jorge masvidal, term goal

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Now that Gilbert Melendez will defend his Strikeforce lightweight title against Jorge Masvidal on Dec. 17 in San Diego, California, he can fully focus on other things, like claiming his "pound-for-pound" status and his future goals in mixed martial arts. Speaking to MMA Weekly, Gilbert says he should be talked about in the top pound-for-pound rankings, which would put him in a class with Frankie Edgar, Jon Jones, Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva. Among other things, "El Nino" also discussed his career up to this point and a possible move to welterweight in the future. "If things go well here then I might go to 170 you know. Why not? I can fight at 170 pounds and I know I can beat some guys out there, but there are definitely plenty of challenges at 155 right now, but you know why not have goals in the long term to be one of the best in the world and go to three weight classes. Why not, I'm not trying to be arrogant; it's just that it's a dream. I'm allowed to dream a little bit and I'm allowed to work for it. So, that's what I mean by that." Hear more from Melendez after the jump. Here is run down of the interview for those of you who are computer monitored by "the man" at your place of employment. When asked about what he feels his status in the rankings is, Gilbert had this to say: "Hey man it’s debatable.  It’s definitely debatable, but I was the number one 145 pounder in the world a long time ago before a lot of people even knew about it and then I went up to 155 and I’ve become top three in the world there, debatable number one. You know I’m up there pound for pound as well.  Frankie is very well deserving of being a pound for pound guy, but until he goes to 145 pounds and takes care of business there, then I don’t know how he is going to be a pound for pound.  I have done in two weight classes. I have been in this sport for a long time and I truly feel I am number one but I am sick of saying it I just want to prove it." Before Gilbert has a chance to fight for one more title, he has to get past a very tough opponent in "Gamebred," Jorge Masvidal. A loss for "El Nino" could send him tumbling all the way down to the bottom of the barrel in a very stacked UFC lightweight division. What do you say Maniacs,, will Gilbert Melendez prevail in his tough match-up against "Gamebred" and does he deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world?

Posted in: pound, &rsquo, thing, gilbert melendez, gilbert

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I meant "shank tark". Sorry Gus. With the news that Gilbert Melendez is UFC bound, it'll be interesting to see whether Melendez can avoid the stereotype of non-Zuffa fighters under-performing in the 'big show'. At 29 years old, he's got plenty of time to make waves, but will he? Melendez is on an impressive winning streak. Within that streak is the avenging of his only two losses, and two emphatic wins over then top 10 competition in Tatsuya Kawajiri and Shinya Aoki. Moreover, Gilbert brings with him a style perfect for the division. His wrestling is top notch, and his striking, while highly competent (with elements of both power and speed), is made stronger by the fact that he's a rangy LW. Of course, what's odd about the news being made so public, with both parties willing to talk about Gil's prospects in the UFC is that Melendez still has a title fight scheduled in December against a fighter he'd be wise not to underestimate in Jorge Masvidal. It's possible Dana and Melendez forgot about that fight. I know the fans did, including myself.  Masvidal has taken bad losses: to Palomino (questionable decision), Imada, and Damm (to be fair Sengoku refs make the Yamasaki brothers as of last night look like the Wright Brothers with that terrible stoppage). But he's highly talented, and when he's focused, he can almost be mistaken for world class. As he showed in his dominating victory over KJ Noons. Of course, the news also underscores what many have long suspected: that Strikeforce is a corpse. The only thing missing is the engraving on the tombstone. The Strikeforce HW, LHW, and WW champions have already signed into the UFC, and now the LW champion is heading in the same direction. One of their most marketable fighters in Cung Le is in the UFC. No word on when Luke Rockhold is coming over. What kind of show is Strikeforce expected to run without their champions? None at all, which is what many suspected in the beginning, but I suppose it's nice to finally have confirmation. Poll How good are Gilbert's chances in the UFC? Good. He does all the things every other wrestle-boxer in the UFC does but better. Bad. Beating Kawajiri and Aoki doesn't prove you've got a chance in the UFC.   4 votes | Results

Posted in: ufc, strikeforce, gilbert melendez, melendez, gilbert

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Four down, one to go. The UFC has slowly but surely taken every champion from the Strikeforce roster, siphoning every bit of top talent from the promotion. Last night, Dana White put yet another nail in the soon to be completed coffin for the San Jose based organization. With Dan Henderson, Nick Diaz and Alistair Overeem already having made the jump, White indicated he's about to bring in one more. Speaking at the UFC on Versus 6 post-fight press conference, the President had this to say regarding current Strikforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez: "We do want to bring Gilbert Melendez over and we're looking at it right now. We're going to bring Melendez over ASAP. We're looking to bring him over now." White, however, stopped short of guaranteeing "El Nino" an immediate tite shot: "It's a possibility. The thing is that division is so stacked. And usually timing has a lot to do with it." The timing couldn't be better, what with the UFC lightweight title being up for grabs on Oct. 8, live from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, as current champ Frankie Edgar defends his strap against Gray Maynard. Could we get an announcement as early as next weekend regarding the status of Melendez? And if the move is made, what will become of his rumored December title defense against Jorge Masvidal? Maybe just bring them both over? How's that sound to you Maniacs? Discuss.

Posted in: ufc, gilbert melendez, melendez, gilbert, tite shot

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If the UFC Lightweight division isn't already stacked enough, you can expect it to be even more top-heavy as soon as possible.That's according to UFC President Dana White, who told members of the media following Saturday's UFC on Versus 6 post-fight press conference that the promotion is planning to bring over Strikeforce 155-pound kingpin Gilbert Melendez "ASAP.""We do want to bring Gilbert Melendez over and we’re looking at it right now," White revealed (via MMAWeekly.com). "We’re going to

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It was an exciting night for Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and he wasn't even fighting.

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Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez, according to UFC president Dana White, will be the latest talent siphoned away to the UFC.

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Before LayzieTheSavage worked for MiddleEasy, he lived on the beach and spent months on end manifesting highlight reels. He was born on The Underground, but since he linked up with MiddleEasy, the guy dates a friggin' model. As mentioned earlier, all of this stuff is not coincidence. It's all delicately planned out by some celestial and omnipresent entity. We call him the 'MiddleEasy Monster' and he presides over everything. He's like God, but unlike God, he refuses to get involved in the outcomes of MMA bouts. He just stands and carefully observes everything, including this new highlight reel of Gilbert Melendez created by LayzieTheSavage.

Posted in: middleeasy, gilbert melendez, melendez, gilbert, mma bouts

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