BACKGROUND
Gilbert Melendez was born in Santa Ana, Calif., on April 12, 1982. He began wrestling in high school, but didn’t start training in mixed martial arts until after college. While attending San Francisco State University and studying liberal arts, Melendez was introduced to MMA by his good friend Jake Shields. Melendez had planned on becoming a teacher, but his newfound love for MMA and the training that went along with it took up the majority of his time, and he dropped out.
EARLY CAREER
Melendez made his professional debut on Oct. 18, 2002 at WEC 5, back before the WEC was purchased by Zuffa, defeating Greg Quan by TKO as the first round drew to a close. He stuck around the WEC for several years while also fighting in promotions such as Rumble on the Rock, and he even made his debut in Japan for the Shooto promotion.
The biggest win of Melendez’s career, to that point, came when he defeated Clay Guida for the Strikeforce lightweight title on March 10, 2006 at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie. Upon winning the championship, Melendez would continue fighting for Strikeforce while also moonlighting for the PRIDE organization in Japan.
Melendez suffered the first loss of his career to Mitsuhiro Ishida on Dec. 31, 2007. He would go on to beat Gabe Lemley, but then lost to Josh Thomson in the first fight of would what eventually become a trilogy between the two. After the Thomson loss, Melendez would begin a winning streak that continues to this day.
NOTABLE WINS
Oct. 18, 2002: Defeats Greg Quan for first professional win.
Aug. 20, 2005: Defeats legendary fighter Rumina Sato
June 9, 2006: Defeats Clay Guida, wins Strikeforce lightweight title
Dec. 31, 2006: Defeats Tatsuya Kawajiri
Aug. 15, 2009: Defeats Mitsuhiro Ishida, avenges first career loss
Dec. 19, 2009: Defeats Josh Thomson, unifies Strikeforce lightweight title
April 17, 2010: Defeats Shinya Aoki
May 19, 2012: Defeats Josh Thomson for second time; final Strikeforce fight
CHAMPIONSHIPS
Strikeforce lightweight championship (two times)
Interim Strikeforce lightweight championship (one time)
WEC lightweight championship (one time)
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