Earlier this month, there was a very real chance that Gilbert Melendez could finally be making his way over to the UFC’s lightweight division.
However, those rumors were squashed, and he will instead face off against Jorge Masdival on December 17th, with the lightweight title on the line.
If Melendez was going to come over to the UFC, many were calling for an immediate title shot against the winner of Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard at UFC 136.
Unfortunately for Melendez, he won’t get that now, and potentially, he won’t get it when he comes over to the UFC either.
But we can wonder, where would Melendez fit into the UFC lightweight division?
Many contenders were recently knocked out of contention, as Jim Miller, Melvin Guillard and Anthony Pettis have all lost when they were one or two fights away from a title shot.
Now, the lightweight title picture consists of Ben Henderson and Clay Guida. Further out, you have Donald Cerrone, Dennis Siver, Joe Lauzon, and the earlier mentioned trio of Guillard, Miller, and Pettis.
The lightweight division is full of talent, but is growing short on contenders.
Upon Gilbert’s arrival in the UFC, he would likely be granted an immediate title shot, but his debut would be better served against someone like the loser of the Henderson-Guida fight.
Both fights would certainly be great, as Melendez would have a fight for the ages with either Guida or Henderson.
Melendez would likely be in the top four in the UFC’s lightweight division. And he already holds a win over Clay Guida, who many consider to be No. 3 in the division currently.
Melendez has the tools and potential to be the champion, but so did Jake Shields.
Until he makes his UFC debut, we can’t really be sure where he’ll fit in, but I can’t wait to find out.
Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on twitter @tmt2393.
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