UFC president Dana White’s words, not mine.
During Thursday’s media call announcing the new deal between Strikeforce and Showtime, White was on the phone as one of the speakers discussing the new deal and the new focus for the No. 2 promotion.
The media were keenly interested in the fate of Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert ‘El Niño’ Melendez (19-2), as the worlds number two ranked 155-pound fighter had made it known that he wanted to compete against the best in the Octagon.
White explained that under the new deal, Melendez would be staying with Strikeforce and was “absolutely f***ing excited about it.”
“I can tell you this, Gilbert Melendez is pumped to stay in Strikeforce. He’s one of the big stars in Strikeforce. If he wins his next fight, and the next fight after that he will continue to defend his belt in Strikeforce. And he’s absolutely f***ing excited about it just so you know.”
This “next fight” for Melendez sees him face a very underrated opponent in Jorge Masvidal this weekend, but after that the Strikeforce division lacks the top talent that could really offer ‘El Niño’ a challenge and could actually see him lose to a much lower ranked fighter. It is definitely going to be an interesting time in the coming year for Melendez as well as the entire Strikeforce promotion.
Melendez is currently set to defend his title this coming Saturday against Masvidal on December 17th at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California.