Anthony Pettis out-coached Gilbert Melendez on The Ultimate Fighter 20, and now he’s beaten the former Strikeforce champion inside the Octagon.
While Pettis‘ striking gets most of the attention, he’s now gotten it done with submissions in two straight outings. Showtime captured the lightweight championship with an armbar against Benson Henderson. Then, on Saturday, Pettis locked up a guillotine choke on Melendez to retain UFC gold.
As expected, Melendez was reluctant to stand with Pettis. El Nino attempted eight takedowns in less than seven minutes, but he was only successful on one shot. When Melendez tried to secure a double-leg takedown less than two minutes into the second stanza, Pettis countered with a very tight guillotine choke and forced his opponent to tap.
And still….. #ufc181 #teampettis http://t.co/tiovkVKLV8
— Anthony Pettis (@Showtimepettis) December 7, 2014
Unbeaten in six straight fights, Pettis can now set his sights on developing a legacy as 155-pound champion. As long as he can stay healthy, having been away from competition for 15 months prior to his win over the weekend, Pettis has the skill to go down as one of the better lightweights MMA has seen.
In the stacked 155-pound class, there are several directions the UFC could go for Pettis‘ next matchup. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Rafael dos Anjos are among the leaders to challenge the Roufusport standout.
Meanwhile, Melendez will have some tough decisions to make regarding his future in MMA.
“I got a little sloppy. I’m going to grow from this” @GilbertMelendez #UFC181
— UFC (@ufc) December 7, 2014
He’s still among the best in the world, but Melendez has now lost two title fights in his past three outings. It’s unlikely he’ll get another crack at the lightweight belt any time soon and, being 32 years old, he’s not going to want to wait long.
A change in weight divisions could be an option. Dropping to 145 pounds might be tough for Melendez, but it’d be worth a test cut or two, as the move has helped another former elite lightweight, Frankie Edgar, turn his career around.
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