Former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez knows he let a lot of people down.
Melendez, an ex-UFC title contender, will return to action for the first time in over a year this July when he meets Edson Barboza at UFC on FOX 20. “El Nino” was suspended after failing a post-fight drug test.
The fighter appeared on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour” but did not want to divulge into the failed test for the most part.
“I really don’t want to go down a rabbit hole or anything like that. I made a mistake that won’t happen again, and I’m not proud of it,” Melendez said (thanks to MMAFighting.com for the quotes). “If I’m doing my best to move on from it, and I’m hoping everyone else can, and it’s understandable if they can’t.
“But I just want to do everything in my power to prove that I am still a warrior and I’m a great fighter and just wanting to move forward, to be honest.”
The 34-year-old Melendez (22-5) has lost three of his last four, with two of them being split decision defeats at the hands of Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis. Both of those fights were for the UFC lightweight championship.