Gilbert Melendez isn’t a fighter who is willing to settle for anything less than his best, and he’s determined to get his career back on track.
After a three-year run under the Strikeforce banner in which he won then defended the lightweight title on six consecutive occasions, El Nino finally crossed over into UFC waters in 2013.
With Melendez long being touted as one of the best 155-pound fighters in the world, his first foray into the Octagon was a clash of champions as he faced UFC lightweight title holder Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox 7 in San Jose. The fight was the big stage the 32-year-old Californian had been waiting for and was his opportunity to solidify himself as the best lightweight in the world.
Yet, despite a hard-fought five-round war with Smooth, Melendez came out on the short end of a split decision on the judges’ scorecards. It was Melendez’s first setback since 2008, and he came out determined to get back into the win column in his next outing against Diego Sanchez at UFC 166.
The Skrap Pack leader put on a memorable performance en route to picking up the unanimous decision victory as the perennial contender, and The Nightmare stood toe-to-toe trading shots for the entire 15 minutes of the fight.
When the final bell sounded, it was Melendez who won the battle and, in the process, earned a chance at redemption as he was lined up to face newly crowned champion, Anthony Pettis, in 2014. The bout not only represented his chance to make good on a missed opportunity the first time around, but with Pettis‘ surging profile, the championship tilt would also bring the increased visibility he’d been working years to achieve.
The two fighters were selected to coach the 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter, and with several smooth showings behind the desk, Melendez’s work as an analyst for Fox Sports 1 and ESPN tripled. Filming the reality program served to push his bout with Pettis out several months, and the champion recovering from a knee injury bumped the fight out even more.
The end result was a co-main event showdown at UFC 181 in December and a 14-month layoff that put Melendez out of the cage for the longest stint of his career.
It was an unusual turn but one that came with added benefits for the longtime former Strikeforce champion.
“It was a very productive year for my career and the ‘El Nino‘ brand,” Melendez told Bleacher Report. “I did a lot of work as an analyst, did the TV show, signed a good contract and landed a big fight. As for Gilbert Melendez as a fighter and a world champion, I know I’m in my prime and need to dedicate every day to being in the gym. I can’t spread myself too thin, and I think I did that in 2014. I still trained very hard, but I need to be focused and in the gym every day.
“I have filmed two different television shows. I have a family and my gym that I own. Doing television work is great, and it’s something I enjoy, but it takes away from the time I have to dedicate to other things. There are no excuses here, but there is a lesson I can take away from it all. If I want to stay relevant, get better and not lose focus for that split second; I need to be in the gym a lot more. I need to get back to my 18- and 19-year-old days where I just live in the gym.”
Nevertheless, Melendez entered his second shot at the UFC lightweight crown in peak condition but was submitted in the second round when Pettis locked in a fight ending rear-naked choke. For a fighter with the caliber of fire Melendez brings to the table, the loss was devastating, but he’s never been one to fold to adversity. The Santa Ana native took some time to allow everything to soak in, and now he’s ready to get back to work.
Melendez is determined to get things back on track, and he’s eager to return to the Octagon in the coming months.
“I give Anthony [Pettis] all the credit,” Melendez said. “He won the fight that night. I stuck to a game plan, and I feel I got a little sloppy. I got a little anxious and fought with a little less discipline than usual. I lost focus for a split second, and that was it. That is what this sport is all about. You get sloppy for a split second, and that can mean everything. I lost focus for that one moment, and he got me. That’s hard to live with as a fighter. It would have been easier to have fought a perfectly focused fight and lose than what happened.
“The fight was going great. It was much easier than I expected to grab him and put him up against the cage. His kicks weren’t really landing, he was fast, but I was in control of things. I knew I was winning, and things were working well, but again…I lost that little bit of focus and ended up losing. After the fight I was one pissed dude because I knew I have what it takes to beat this guy. I was on my way to doing that, and I got sloppy. I got dumb and I got sloppy.
“Losing focus and losing that fight because of it, and it was tough to deal with that loss,” he added. “I really believe I can beat him. No one has ever really taken it to Anthony like that. No one had taken him out of the first round for awhile, and I did until he got that submission. But I’m bouncing back now, and I’m training. It’s fun, and things were working for a long time, but now I’m on that reinvention mode. I’m having some fun, trying to learn some new things and really tighten up my boxing.”
The UFC’s lightweight division is arguably the most talent-rich collective under the promotion’s banner, and Melendez knows he’s going to have a tough road to climb back to another title shot. Yet, even with that being the case, the scrappy Californian is game to get back into the mix. With just four losses in 26 fights in a career that has spanned more than a decade, Melendez has never been one to settle with things on the losing end.
With that in mind, he’s eager to get back to work, and settling the score with an old rival would be the ideal next step. Former Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez has been a name attached to Melendez for quite some time, but with both competing for separate promotions, the fight has never come to fruition. Yet, with both now fighting under the UFC banner, and The Underground King falling out of his bout with Henderson at Fight Night 59, a showdown between the two gritty lightweights is absolutely possible.
Melendez loves the idea of finally squaring off with Alvarez and believes it would a great fight that makes absolute sense in the divisional picture.
“Fighting Eddie Alvarez is on my mind right now,” Melendez said. “It’s funny because this fight has been on my radar for a long time. We knew it could possibly happen one day, and it looks like it is a strong possibility right now. I would love to get that fight.
“I’m in the situation where I’ve had two title fights, and I’ve come up short on both opportunities. It is a regrouping phase. It’s hard to take because I definitely want the title. I want to go in there and impress. I want to win fights, and I want to show some new things in the process. It’s the point of my career where I have to evolve and change up the game a little bit.
“There’s a lot of tough guys in my division, and there is some adapting that needs to be done,” he added. “I want to show everyone that I can adjust and that I’m an intelligent fighter. I’m going to keep being relevant for the remainder of my career. I’ve been in the top 10 rankings for the last seven or eight years. I don’t plan on going anywhere. Guys come and go, but I’ll still be here.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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