Tag: gilbert melendez

Dana White Celebrates the UFC’s ‘Cut-Throat’ Negotiating tactics in a series of leaked emails and texts

UFC Dana WhiteThe UFC has been under fire for years when it comes to the hot-button issue of fighter pay. Courtesy…

UFC Dana White

The UFC has been under fire for years when it comes to the hot-button issue of fighter pay.

Courtesy of a recent report from Anton Tabuena and John S. Nash of BloodyElbow, we now have a better idea of the promotion’s underhanded negotiating tactics. Perhaps even more disgusting is how some of the UFC’s top dogs, including CEO Dana White, celebrated their victories at the expense of the talent that line their pockets.

This past week, exchanges between White, former UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, and ex-matchmaker Joe Silva were brought to light courtesy of a class action lawsuit filed against the promotion by a slew of past and present fighters, including Cung Le and Jon Fitch. Bloody Elbow was able to obtain many of the newly unsealed emails and text messages, which paint a pretty clear picture of the organization’s sketchy dealmaking.

After the UFC used one of their controversial contract clauses to prevent former Strikeforce and WEC lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez from moving to Bellator, text messages obtained from the lawsuit showed Dana White congratulating Lorenzo Fertitta for maing a “fukn cut throat nasty business” move by blocking Melendez’s jump to Bellator.

“Bro, u know i love u to fukn death as it is but what u pulled off this week with Melendez and “other dude” is fukn BAD ASS! Fukn cut throat nasty business like u see in movies!!” Dana White wrote in a text.

“We gotta keep taking these f*ckers oxygen till they tap out. We have sacrificed too much to let anyone get traction now,” Fertitta responded.

“I agree! U r 100% correct and i LOVE IT,” Dana White responded.

Fertitta confirmed in his deposition that the “other” fighter being discussed was former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez.

UFC Officials Wanted to Put Nate Diaz’s Last Fight on the Prelims

Recently unredacted emails from Joe Silva and Lorenzo Fertitta showed the pair discussing previous contract negotiations with TUF alumnus Nate Diaz after his representative, Cesar Gracie, looked to secure a better pay rate for his fighter.

The exchange showed how they intentionally “lowballed” Diaz and had planned to put him on the prelims portion of what would have been his last appearance with the promotion.

“Do we let Strikeforce pay him $48,000 + $48,000 or do we give them what they want?” Silva asked White and Fertitta. “He was making 24+24. I offered 27+27 30+30 33+33 36+36.”

“I lowballed them on purpose the first offer knowing they would turn it down. How about I come back with 29+29 32+32 35+35 38+38,” Silva added. “If they turn it down I put him in a prelim against a really tough guy for his last fight.”

Diaz ultimately ended up staying with the UFC. In his fight following this exchange, the ‘Stockton Samurai’ earned $30,000 to show and $30,000 to win.

Screenshot 2023 12 07 12.11.43 PM

That was far from the last time Diaz would find himself fighting against the UFC’s shady tactics. Tracy Long, the promotion’s former legal affairs manager, detailed another set of negotiations with Diaz two years later. After returning to 155 and winning three straight fights, Diaz earned himself a lightweight title opportunity against then-champion Benson Henderson.

However, his title shot was held up as Diaz was looking to negotiate a new six-fight deal instead of the longer eight-fight offer that the promotion had proposed. Diaz had already fought an incredible 16 times for the UFC at that point and spent numerous years on a lower-tier deal from his days on The Ultimate Fighter. During the negotiations, Long explained that she wanted to reiterate how removing the last two bouts meant that Diaz would be losing the highest tier payouts which was $100,000 to show.

In the unsealed emails, Long revealed how White told Diaz he only had three options to choose from: Accept the modified six-fight deal, fight for the title at a rate of $45,000 to show and $45,000 to win, or get pulled from the title bout altogether.

“He should be willing to take less money from us,” Fertitta responded, before bringing up Diaz’s multiple performance bonuses from his fights.

In the end, Nate Diaz fought Henderson for the lightweight title two months after the email exchange. He came up short, losing via a unanimous decision. He reportedly earned a disclosed purse of $50,000 for the fight.

Ex-UFC star Gilbert Melendez confident Nate Diaz ‘destroys’ Jake Paul in MMA: ‘I’d love to see it’

Jake PaulJake Paul may have gotten the best of Nate Diaz inside the squared circle, but things might not go quite as well should he decide to step into a cage with the ‘Stockton Samurai’ next year. ‘The Problem Child’ scored his seventh career win over the weekend, earning a unanimous decision victory following an entertaining […]

Jake Paul

Jake Paul may have gotten the best of Nate Diaz inside the squared circle, but things might not go quite as well should he decide to step into a cage with the ‘Stockton Samurai’ next year.

‘The Problem Child’ scored his seventh career win over the weekend, earning a unanimous decision victory following an entertaining 10-round scrap. Immediately following the match, Jake Paul doubled down on his MMA challenge to Nate Diaz, offering the TUF alumnus $10 million to meet him inside the PFL Smart Cage.

According to Nate Diaz’s longtime teammate Gilbert Melendez, that offer could come back to bite the social media superstar.

“Nate destroys this guy in MMA,” Melendez said of the potential matchup on an episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “I’d love to see it. I’d love to see it in boxing again, too. Run it back in boxing and then in MMA” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Nate Diaz Proved He is the ‘Better Fighter’ Despite Taking an L Against ‘The Problem Child’

Sitting ringside at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Melendez believes the kid from 209 showed the world he is the better fighter, but the power and durability of ‘The Problem Child’ ultimately proved to be too much for Nate Diaz to overcome.

“To me, [Nate] was clearly a better fighter, boxer, the power went to the young man and the durability went to Jake Paul for being young but towards the end, I felt the momentum [shift] again,” Melendez explained. “The no quit in Nate coming around. That 9th and 10th rounds where Jake Paul’s getting tired, he’s hugging, he’s losing steam, he can’t put him away. Obviously, I think the size made a difference. A smaller man would have withered sooner.

“I thought Nate did a great job. Just two significant moments happened for Jake Paul that made Nate have to come back a little bit and I believe he was on his way to coming back both those times in that fifth round before he got clipped and then in that 10th round when Jake Paul was holding on and just kind of letting time expire.”

Gilbert Melendez Believes Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz in MMA Will Be a One-Sided Affair

While Jake Paul undoubtedly held an advantage in the sweet science, things could be drastically different under MMA rules. Even if Nate Diaz gives up a considerable size advantage, his world-class grappling would undoubtedly be too much for ‘The Problem Child’ to overcome.

“You may land a good jab or a good shot but we can clinch” Melendez said. “We can clinch and there’s no referee there to break you up. What’s going to happen then when we get in that grappling zone? It’s just a different sport. You could train, you could become a blue belt [in Brazilian jiu-jitsu] but it takes so much time to become a black belt.

“The grappling, the wrestling is very complex to learn compared to the boxing. I’m not saying it’s easy to succeed but when I have people sign up at my gym and they’re like ‘what should I do first?’ You’ll probably succeed at boxing first. Meaning it’s just your hands, one-two, one-two, some punches. There’s a lot to it [with MMA] — adding kicks, jiu-jitsu, wrestling. It takes so much time to learn that and then to put it together in MMA.”

Aside from the introduction of grappling, Melendez believes that the move from eight-ounce gloves to four-ounce ones will also present Jake Paul with an entirely different perspective once things are all said and done in his mixed martial arts debut.

“Not only in the grappling department but striking with MMA gloves is a different animal,” Melendez said. “It’s a different animal. The punches are different. The way they get in. The angles you can use. The dirty boxing you can use. It’s just a different animal.

“It’s just a lifetime of experience. Nate’s one of those guys, he’s a mixed martial artist. He knows it all and it’s real type of fighting. Just snagging that choke and seeing how he responded, he hit a single leg. It’s a different animal. That’s what mixed martial arts is. This is as pure as fighting comes that can be sanctioned.”

It is possible that the two combat sports icons could opt to run it back inside the squared circle ahead of, or in lieu of a rematch in mixed martial arts. But whether it happens in the ring or the cage, Gilbert Melendez is 100% on board for it.

“It’s a different sport,” Melendez said. “I can’t wait to see it. I really do hope they have a rematch, whether it’s boxing or MMA.”

Gilbert Melendez Reacts To Two-Year USADA Sanction

Gilbert Melendez has spoken out on his two-year suspension from USADA. Melendez was flagged by USADA for a violation of the anti-doping policy. While Melendez isn’t an active member of the UFC roster anymore, the test was administered back in Oct…

Gilbert Melendez has spoken out on his two-year suspension from USADA. Melendez was flagged by USADA for a violation of the anti-doping policy. While Melendez isn’t an active member of the UFC roster anymore, the test was administered back in Oct. 2019 which was a month before “El Nino’s” UFC release was made public. Melendez […]

The post Gilbert Melendez Reacts To Two-Year USADA Sanction appeared first on MMA News.

Gilbert Melendez Retroactively Suspended For Two Years By USADA After Positive Drug Test

MelendezFormer UFC featherweight Gilbert Melendez has been retroactively suspended for two years by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). The news was revealed by USADA on Monday after the former Strikeforce lightweight champion had tested positive for GHRP-6 and its metabolites GHRP-6(2-5)-OH and GHRP-6(2-6)-OH. The results were from an out-of-competition urine sample collected on October […]

Melendez

Former UFC featherweight Gilbert Melendez has been retroactively suspended for two years by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

The news was revealed by USADA on Monday after the former Strikeforce lightweight champion had tested positive for GHRP-6 and its metabolites GHRP-6(2-5)-OH and GHRP-6(2-6)-OH.

The results were from an out-of-competition urine sample collected on October 16, 2019. As a result, Melendez’s two-year suspension began as of November 1, 2019.

You can see USADA’s statement below:

“USADA announced today that an independent arbitrator has rendered a decision in the case of UFC® athlete Gilbert Melendez, of Brisbane, Calif., and determined that Melendez should receive a two-year period of ineligibility for his anti-doping policy violation, precluding him from competing in any UFC bouts. This decision comes after the facts of the case were presented and argued.

Melendez, 38, tested positive for GHRP-6 and its metabolites GHRP-6(2-5)-OH and GHRP-6(2-6)-OH as the result of a urine sample collected out-of-competition on October 16, 2019. GHRP-6 is a non-Specified Substance in the class of Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances, and Mimetics, and is prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and UFC Prohibited List.

While Melendez did not contest the presence of GHRP-6 and its metabolites in his sample nor identify a source of the prohibited peptide, he did challenge USADA’s jurisdiction to conduct the test. The arbitrator concluded that USADA did have jurisdiction to both conduct the test and allege an anti-doping policy violation in the event of a positive sample, as was the case.

Melendez’s two-year period of ineligibility began on November 1, 2019, the date his provisional suspension was imposed.”

Melendez No Longer Contracted To UFC

It should be noted that Melendez last competed in July last year following a unanimous decision defeat to Arnold Allen. His UFC contract was terminated on October 12 which was four days before USADA’s test.

Despite that and Melendez challenging USADA’s jurisdiction to conduct the test, he was still suspended.

Melendez could still fight for promotions outside the United States similar to how Mirko Cro Cop did the same a few years ago despite his USADA suspension.

However, one must question why he was tested in the first place if he was no longer a contracted fighter at the time.

What do you make of Melendez’s suspension?

Former UFC Fighter Gilbert Melendez Handed Two-Year USADA Sanction

Gilbert Melendez may no longer be a member of the UFC roster but he’s still been hit with a USADA sanction. USADA announced that an “independent arbitrator” has ruled that Melendez should serve a two-year suspension for a violation of…

Gilbert Melendez may no longer be a member of the UFC roster but he’s still been hit with a USADA sanction. USADA announced that an “independent arbitrator” has ruled that Melendez should serve a two-year suspension for a violation of the anti-doping policy. Melendez argued that USADA didn’t have the right to conduct the test […]

The post Former UFC Fighter Gilbert Melendez Handed Two-Year USADA Sanction appeared first on MMA News.

MMA Elite Status: 10 Lightweights Who Have Built Legacies

The lightweight division in MMA has probably featured more back-and-forth wars in the sport than any other division. While the UFC always seems to set the bar, there are fighters in other promotions that have put in the work and won titles all over the…

The lightweight division in MMA has probably featured more back-and-forth wars in the sport than any other division. While the UFC always seems to set the bar, there are fighters in other promotions that have put in the work and won titles all over the landscape of the sport. Some still fight, even when they […]

The post MMA Elite Status: 10 Lightweights Who Have Built Legacies appeared first on MMA News.