After nearly a year of waiting for it to go down, UFC 181 allowed Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez to settle their score in the Octagon. The two spent time coaching The Ultimate Fighter 20 and promoting their bout for most of 2014, but they finally met on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Pettis got the better of Melendez with a slick guillotine, putting an end to the rivalry for the time being. Melendez heads back to the drawing board, while Pettis gets to continue his path as the face of the UFC’s 155-pound division.
What We’ll Remember About This Fight
The finishing instincts of Pettis.
He spent most of the bout pressed against the cage and sucking air while Melendez grounded him to dust. Then when the only opportunity for offense on the night presented itself, he snatched up the choke and scored the tapout.
It’s the type of thing that’s becoming commonplace for the young champion and is making people realize that he’s way more than a face on a Wheaties box.
What We Learned About Gilbert Melendez
That for all his toughness and skill—of which he has plenty and is perhaps underrated to a criminal degree in that regard—he may not get another chance to hoist a UFC belt over his head. He was the best Strikeforce had to offer and a champion in WEC, but it doesn’t look likely that he’ll get to complete the trifecta.
He’s 32 and has lost on two separate occasions in UFC title bouts now. So unless he looks into a drop to featherweight, he’s likely destined to flesh out cards as an exciting addition instead of fighting solely with an eye on another title shot.
What We Learned About Anthony Pettis
That he’s 100 percent for real. Sure, he gets hurt sometimes. He goes missing while he rehabs. And you don’t get to see him as much as you might want to. But when he’s out there in that cage, there might not be anyone who does it better.
He’s exciting and marketable, and if he can get some momentum in his performances, there’s nothing stopping him from being the biggest star on the roster. There’s also no clear way that anyone at lightweight can beat him. He has no obvious flaws in his game that he hasn’t shored up over the past couple of years, so it seems like the only limits on his potential are those he’ll put on himself.
What’s Next for Melendez
Once he gets done with Benson Henderson next month—win or lose—there’d be a lot to like about Eddie Alvarez meeting up with Melendez sometime in the spring.
What’s Next for Pettis
There isn’t really a clear challenger for Pettis right now. There’s more of a collection of guys trying to lay their claim. Either Khabib Nurmagomedov or the winner of Rafael dos Anjos vs. Nate Diaz might be on tap, though.
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