Despite some apparent rumors of a possible title fight between Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez (19-2) and UFC lightweight Jim Miller (20-2), Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has confirmed that it is just that, a rumor.
After Melendez recent win over Tatsuya Kawajiri he started campaigning to unify both the UFC and Strikeforce 155 lb titles. While Miller, who has won seven straight, has talked about wanting a title shot but seems content to sit and wait till the UFC offers him one.
In my opinion, bringing UFC fighters over to Strikeforce would alleviate the backlog of fighters waiting for a chance at the title. Anthony Pettis had earned the next shot after a win over Ben Henderson at WEC 53, but was told to wait after champ Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were booked for their title rematch. Now Pettis meets Clay Guida later this summer, and somewhere in there Miller has to fit in the pecking order, so why not give him a title shot with Strikeforce.
Here are Coker’s comments on the rumored bout during a recent interview on the “Savage Dog Show” with Sherdog.com.
“There’s going to be a lot of rumors flying back and forth, around fights and what’s going to happen, but they’re not based on fact. They’re just based on rumors and people just trying to start a story or keep legs on the story. The truth is there has not been any dialogue on that.”
“Who knows when those other fights (UFC vs. Strikeforce) will happen, but I think that Gilbert will be able to hold his own and prove to the world that he is the number one fighter in the world.”
“I’ve been feeling that he’s the number one lightweight in the world for the last 18 months or the last year at least. I think if you look at his performance over Kawajiri … I think it’s well deserved.”