Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsFor most fighters, winning a major championship is an ultimate career goal. Few, however, will ever get the chance to compete for one, let alone have a shiny, gold belt strapped around their waist.
For most fighters, winning a major championship is an ultimate career goal. Few, however, will ever get the chance to compete for one, let alone have a shiny, gold belt strapped around their waist.
Jorge Masvidal gets that chance on Saturday, yet for him, that material possession comes secondary to the personal satisfaction that would come from defeating current Strikeforce lightweight titleholder Gilbert Melendez.
“He’s the No. 1 or No. 2 in most peoples’ opinion,” he told MMA Fighting during a recent teleconference. “That’s what really matters to me. The belt, I could really care less for it.”
Melendez is currently ranked second, behind only UFC champ Frankie Edgar in most lightweight rankings, and the prospect of knocking off his highest-ranked opponent means more to Masvidal than anything else.
The 27-year-old has won both of his Strikeforce fights since re-signing with the company in 2011 (he had also gone 2-0 in a previous run in 2007-08).
While Masvidal has yet to crack a top 10 on his own, he has been considered a talented but sometimes inconsistent fighter with the ability to do so. In recent years, he has led a bit of a nomadic existence, fighting in promotions including Bellator, Bodog Fight, Sengoku and Shark Fights before settling back in Strikeforce’s hexagon. Essentially, he’s chased the best available fights, which is no different than his current focus.
“To me it doesn’t really matter what people say about him or anything,” he said of Melendez’s reputation. “I just want to fight him. I know he’s a solid fighter and that’s all that matters to me. And that’s it, really. To me it’s just another fight. Train hard and that’s it. Train long because it’s five rounds. That’s the only difference. And that’s it. Go in and do my job.”
For his part, Melendez said that just because Masvidal has gone under the radar of some, he shouldn’t be counted among that group. In fact, it’s a fight that he has been anticipating for some time, and he expects Masvidal to be just as game as he says is.
“You get motivated when you’re the underdog or you get motivated when there’s a lot of hype,” he said. “A lot of people have been talking nonsense; that Jorge, like he’s no good. That you’re going to run by him. And that talk kind of bothers me because some people are ignorant. They don’t really follow the game that much. If you don’t fight in the UFC, they think you’re no good.”
Melendez goes into Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal as a sizable favorite, but many observers believe that when Masvidal is at his best, he’s a legitimate threat to anyone. And that means he’s a legitimate threat to win a belt, even if it’s one he says he doesn’t particularly care about.
“When I say ‘just another fight,’ it’s not like I’m dissing my opponent skill-wise or anything,” he said. “I’m just saying that it doesn’t mean anything that it’s a title and it’s a main event on Showtime or nothing like that. It’s just at the end of the day no matter what’s at stake, it’s just a fight. It’s not like Gil has a gun and I’m going in there empty-handed. It’s just another fight. That’s exactly what I mean.”
Filed under: StrikeforceWill Gilbert Melendez make a statement that he deserves to be fighting for the UFC lightweight belt, or will Jorge Masvidal pull off a major upset? Will Cris Cyborg continue to look like the toughest woman in the world after a l…
Will Gilbert Melendez make a statement that he deserves to be fighting for the UFC lightweight belt, or will Jorge Masvidal pull off a major upset? Will Cris Cyborg continue to look like the toughest woman in the world after a layoff of more than a year? Can Gegard Mousasi stop a takedown? Will MMA fans remember to watch Strikeforce on Saturday, more than three months after the last major Strikeforce card? We’ll answer those questions and more as we predict the winners of Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal below.
What: Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal
Where: Valley View Casino Center, San Diego
When: Saturday, the Showtime broadcast begins at 10:00 PM ET
Predictions on the four televised fights below.
Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal For Melendez, this fight is less about defending his Strikeforce lightweight title than it is about demonstrating that he deserves to be brought into the UFC and given huge pay-per-view fights, like the Strikeforce champions at heavyweight (Alistair Overeem) light heavyweight (Dan Henderson) middleweight (Jake Shields) and welterweight (Nick Diaz) have been. Melendez needs more than just a victory — he needs a sensational performance, a spectacular submission or knockout that has everyone clamoring to see Melendez fight the winner of the upcoming Frankie Edgar-Ben Henderson fight.
Melendez should beat Masvidal handily, but finishing him in highlight-reel fashion is going to be tough to do. Masvidal has only been finished three times in his 28-fight MMA career. Melendez will win, but it’s going to be tough for him to win in a way that convinces the UFC that he deserves the next crack at the belt. Pick: Melendez
Cris Cyborg vs. Hiroko Yamanaka Cyborg is finally returning to the cage a year and a half after she demolished Jan Finney in a serious mismatch. Give Strikeforce credit for the matchmaking this time around, however, because Yamanaka is no mismatch — she’s probably the second-best145-pound woman in the world, after Cyborg, and she presents some interesting matchup problems for Cyborg. The 5-foot-11 Yamanaka taller and longer than Cyborg, and Cyborg’s tendency to swing wildly with her chin up and her hands down could leave her exposed to an opponent with a reach advantage.
But Yamanaka isn’t much of a finisher (eight of her 12 wins are by decision), and in a 25-minute title fight, eventually Cyborg is going to hit her and hit her hard. Look for Cyborg to win, but look for Yamanaka to give her the toughest test she’s had since she made her EliteXC debut three and a half years ago. Pick: Cyborg
Gegard Mousasi vs. Ovince St. Preux Mousasi has much more experience than St. Preux and a much, much more well-rounded game than St. Preux. Some fans view this fight as a mismatch that Mousasi should win easily.
I’m not so sure about that. I think St. Preux, a former University of Tennessee defensive end who has gone on a tear in the cage over the last couple of years, has just the kind of style to drive Mousasi crazy: St. Preux is stronger than Mousasi and has good takedowns, and Mousasi has shown in his loss to Mo Lawal and his draw with Keith Jardine that he has a really, really hard time staying off his back. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see St. Preux take Mousasi down enough to grind out a decision.
However, while Mousasi isn’t very good at staying off his back, he is good at finishing his opponents from his back. And that’s what I see him doing: Look for him to catch St. Preux in a triangle choke or an arm bar and force him to tap. Pick: Mousasi
KJ Noons vs. Billy Evangelista Noons and Evangelista are both coming off losses to Masvidal, and the loser of this one may be done in Strikeforce, where no fighter on a losing streak can expect to be safe. I see this fight going the distance, and Noons landing more effective strikes and winning the decision. Pick: Noons
Filed under: Strikeforce, News Gilbert Melendez is a Strikeforce original, one of only two fighters the promotion retains from its inaugural event in 2006, and its only remaining male fighter who receives true consideration among the top five of his di…
Gilbert Melendez is a Strikeforce original, one of only two fighters the promotion retains from its inaugural event in 2006, and its only remaining male fighter who receives true consideration among the top five of his division.
Since April, Melendez (19-2) has been on the shelf, awaiting his next assignment, but despite that, he’s seen his fame grow, mostly because of UFC president Dana White uttering his name regularly during that time in reference to possibly bringing him over to make his octagon debut.
That possibility for now has been moved to the back-burner, but it’s one Melendez gets asked about on a regular basis, and one that is lurking in the background of his Saturday night title defense in the main event of Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal.
Many athletes would refuse to acknowledge the possibility of a future past their next scheduled date, but not Melendez. In fact, he candidly states that he’s not long for Strikeforce, even as he prepares to headline their event on Showtime.
“It’s obvious it’s something we’ve been talking about. I think it’s inevitable,” he said of a future move to UFC. “I think some of the top fighters need to go to the UFC. And I’m one of those guys, so it’s in the works. Things have been talked about. Am I in [the discussions] all the time? Am I the one talking to them? No. But there’s some dialogue going on and I mean, the goal is to be the UFC champion at the end of the day. The goal is to be No. 1 in the world at the end of the day. And the only way to do that is by getting the UFC title.”
Yet, if there’s one last challenge he sees for himself in Strikeforce, it’s his Saturday opponent, Jorge Masvidal.
The Floridian has quietly been considered among the top talents unsigned by the UFC for a few years. He’s also been regarded as a sort of mercurial talent, one who may look like a world-beater on his best days and unmotivated on others.
Masvidal (22-6) signed with Strikeforce in early 2011, moving to the lightweight class in the process, and since then has defeated Billy Evangelista and KJ Noons in consecutive fights. Melendez calls Masvidal an “underrated” fighter who he has been expecting to fight for a couple of years, but the odds will be big in his favor on Saturday, and the pressure is on him to win.
“A lot of people have been talking nonsense, that Jorge is no good,” he said. “You’re going to run by him and that talk kind of bothers me because some people are ignorant. They don’t really follow the game that much. If you don’t fight in the UFC, they think you’re no good. So what’s been the challenge for me is motivating myself and staying motivated and pumping myself up.
“So this means a lot to myself; not to fans, not to anybody,” he continued. “This fight is for me, just to prove that I can defend my throne, and I’m the big favorite here and I have a tough guy who’s underrated and I got to really come through. So that’s what’s been motivating me and I think if I can get past this and look real good, I think it will mean a lot to me more than I think it will to anyone else.”
If Melendez wins, he won’t necessarily push for a shift over to the UFC — he still has multiple fights left on his current deal — but he also says that he can’t think of any other lightweight on the Strikeforce roster that he’s hoping to face or is deserving of a title shot against him. That will make for a tricky situation. He might be the face of Strikeforce, with nothing more to do there.
If that happens, we’ll all know what he wants to do. It’s UFC title or bust, all in due time.
“The goal is to be No. 1 in the world, you know what I mean?” he said. “If I have to beat Jorge, if I have to beat someone else, if I have to beat five more people before that, then so be it. But, the sooner the better. I think I deserve the chance at the UFC title. So, if I can get it as soon as possible that would be great. If not, I’ll have to keep winning and keep working hard. If I feel like I have to constantly prove myself in this MMA industry, then so be it. It’s inevitable. I’m coming for that spot.”
Heading into Saturday night’s Strikeforce show, not a lot of people are giving lightweight challenger Jorge Masvidal much of a chance against champ Gilbert Melendez for various different reasons.
One is the disparity in fight records between the two. Another is that Melendez has never been finished. And a third is that Gilbert hasn’t lost a fight since 2008.
The one wildcard factor Masvidal has going for him is how much of a beating he can take and still keep coming forward. His granite chin rivals anyone’s in the game, which could make for an interesting brawl come Saturday night.
If you’ve seen his pair of street fights against Kimbo Slice protegee Ray, you know what we’re talking about. If you haven’t, check them out after the jump.
(“Gamebred” used to be a moneyweight fighter.)
Heading into Saturday night’s Strikeforce show, not a lot of people are giving lightweight challenger Jorge Masvidal much of a chance against champ Gilbert Melendez for various different reasons.
One is the disparity in fight records between the two. Another is that Melendez has never been finished. And a third is that Gilbert hasn’t lost a fight since 2008.
The one wildcard factor Masvidal has going for him is how much of a beating he can take and still keep coming forward. His granite chin rivals anyone’s in the game, which could make for an interesting brawl come Saturday night.
If you’ve seen his pair of street fights against Kimbo Slice protegee Ray, you know what we’re talking about. If you haven’t, do yourself a favor and check them out below.
Jorge Masvidal‘s MMA career has taken him to Russia, Japan, Costa Rica, and the Playboy Mansion — not bad for a guy who got his start in bare-knuckle fights in his native Miami. Now riding back-to-back victories over Billy Evangelista and KJ Noons under the Strikeforce banner, Masvidal has been honored with a lightweight title shot against Gilbert Melendez at the promotion’s upcoming card on December 17th in San Diego. We got in touch with Masvidal recently to learn more about his streetfighting pedigree, his unconventional fighter’s lifestyle, and why “The Mansion” isn’t as exciting as you’d think. Enjoy…
CAGEPOTATO.COM: I wanted to start off by discussing your streetfighting past. Was it those underground brawls that made you consider the sport of MMA as a profession?
JORGE MASVIDAL: No. Before I did the streetfighting I knew I wanted to do MMA. I knew I wanted to get paid. I didn’t want to be a streetfighting king or nothing. I wanted to fight the best in the world and get paid for my talent. I knew since I was a kid at the age of 13 or 14 that I wanted to fight. I wanted to box, but I was also in love with wrestling. I wish I could have done both, but I realized I could only be competitive in one of them. Then MMA came along and I knew that was the one. At the time I was streetfighting, there wasn’t really an amateur MMA scene. I did that when I was about 18 or 19. They asked me to do it and I was like ‘why not?’
Having been involved in something so raw as backyard brawling, you must experience relatively little fear stepping into the regulated industry of MMA?
Oh yeah, big time. In MMA, I don’t got to worry about getting stabbed, or nobody shooting at me if I beat them up. That’s a big positive. In a streetfight, anything can happen at any random moment. If someone gets upset in the crowd, or you’ve caused somebody to lose money, they can pull a knife or a gun on you. You always get an adrenaline-rush when you step into an MMA cage, but it’s nothing like the concerns you have when streetfighting, when you’re worried about avoiding weapons.
Jorge Masvidal‘s MMA career has taken him to Russia, Japan, Costa Rica, and the Playboy Mansion — not bad for a guy who got his start in bare-knuckle fights in his native Miami. Now riding back-to-back victories over Billy Evangelista and KJ Noons under the Strikeforce banner, Masvidal has been honored with a lightweight title shot against Gilbert Melendez at the promotion’s upcoming card on December 17th in San Diego. We got in touch with Masvidal recently to learn more about his streetfighting pedigree, his unconventional fighter’s lifestyle, and why “The Mansion” isn’t as exciting as you’d think. Enjoy…
CAGEPOTATO.COM: I wanted to start off by discussing your streetfighting past. Was it those underground brawls that made you consider the sport of MMA as a profession?
JORGE MASVIDAL: No. Before I did the streetfighting I knew I wanted to do MMA. I knew I wanted to get paid. I didn’t want to be a streetfighting king or nothing. I wanted to fight the best in the world and get paid for my talent. I knew since I was a kid at the age of 13 or 14 that I wanted to fight. I wanted to box, but I was also in love with wrestling. I wish I could have done both, but I realized I could only be competitive in one of them. Then MMA came along and I knew that was the one. At the time I was streetfighting, there wasn’t really an amateur MMA scene. I did that when I was about 18 or 19. They asked me to do it and I was like ‘why not?’
Having been involved in something so raw as backyard brawling, you must experience relatively little fear stepping into the regulated industry of MMA?
Oh yeah, big time. In MMA, I don’t got to worry about getting stabbed, or nobody shooting at me if I beat them up. That’s a big positive. In a streetfight, anything can happen at any random moment. If someone gets upset in the crowd, or you’ve caused somebody to lose money, they can pull a knife or a gun on you. You always get an adrenaline-rush when you step into an MMA cage, but it’s nothing like the concerns you have when streetfighting, when you’re worried about avoiding weapons.
Before your permanent transition into MMA, you competed in one professional boxing match. Why wasn’t boxing the right fit for you?
I’d already fought a couple MMA bouts when I had the boxing match, and the boxing just wasn’t paying me well at the time. I landed a decent deal with Bodog which guaranteed me good money compared to what I was receiving in boxing. In boxing, I was getting something like 700 or 800 bucks, whereas in MMA, I was being offered $20,000 win or lose. So it was no-brainer. Had boxing offered a few grand more, I would have pursued that. But the problem was, my lack of amateur boxing experience meant that I would have had to put together 15 to 20 fights before I could make some decent money. So it was a financial thing, but also, at the end of the day, I love MMA more than boxing. My first two loves were wrestling and boxing, so to combine them is perfect, and what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Nah man. I just did them. I just went out there to fight and compete. I was having some trouble getting some fights. I never realized [the backyard fights] would get me so much exposure, because I’d been involved in tons of previous streetfights. Kimbo was already famous by that time.
How did Kimbo know to get in contact with you to organise the brawls? Are you still in contact with Kimbo and do you have a good rapport with him?
Well, Kimbo and me trained at the same gym, and Kimbo’s manager Mike Imber contacted me offering me the scrap so I accepted gladly. That was that. I bump into Kimbo at local MMA shows in Miami, and I get on really well with him. He’s a tremendous dude. We both come from a similar fighting background so we have similar mindsets.
There’s something perversely compelling about watching fights unfold in an uncontrolled environment. This phenomenon is proven by the stats: Your fight vs Ray has 660,000 YouTube views. The highest amount of views for one of your professional fights is 71,000 vs Yves Edwards. The biggest irony being that the latter actually showcases a knockout.
That shows exactly what it is. I’ve achieved so many more accomplishments in MMA than beating up Ray in a streetfight, and people don’t even know about it. People don’t know I beat Yves and other top guys. But everybody has their own opinion.
Any chance we’ll see a return of the big hairstyle you were sporting back then?
Well, maybe when I move up a weight class to welterweight. Right now I couldn’t make lightweight if I kept the hair. When my hair’s wet, it weighs a lot. I thank my moms for my good hair. And also the long hair wasn’t practical for training. But I did like rocking the long hair, it helped pick up chicks.
How about the long jean shorts? Would those be authorized by Scott Coker for a Strikeforce fight?
Haha, no, I wouldn’t get away with that. There’s too much wrestling involved in MMA so they’d rip right open. They’d also hamper my mobility. For a streetfight, I dressed appropriately, but for MMA I wear those tight spandex shorts. Maybe I could wear the street attire heading into the cage, but not to compete.
I recently interviewed your boy Isaac Kesington (AKA Genghis Con), and given that you are one of his principal MMA muses, you were the topic of much discussion. For one thing, he revealed your love of a good fiesta. How do you have the ability to both work hard and play hard?
Yeah, Isaac’s my partner man. Hell yeah, I like to party. Me and my great friend Alexis Vila are always training and partying hard. It goes hand in hand. I really don’t drink alcohol excessively. But I like to hang out. Not necessarily in a club, but after a long day of training I just like to unwind and take my mind off fighting. Maybe hit the stripclub. You can ask Isaac, he has seen me do it a million times. I’ll party ’til 4 or 5 in the morning, and then be up at 8.30 to get to the gym by 9. I’ve been doing it for a long time, so it doesn’t affect me much.
Isaac assured me that prior to the KJ Noons you began to take training camp more seriously.
Yes. Well, my coaches were riding me about it. My nutritionist, she wanted me to get some more sleep. But the problem is I kind of have insomnia. I only need five hours and I’m good. But my coaches wanted me to get like eight hours. Even if I’m at home, I’ll stay up playing video games. I’m just active at night.
And you’re apparently fond of junk food?
Oh, of course man. I’m a big McDonalds and Burger King fan. If it wasn’t for my weight I’d be eating that stuff all day long. It keeps my weight up but performance-wise, I feel great. I’d eat a double quarter-pounder with Big Mac sauce and go and kick anybody’s ass. Until I was 23 or 24 I used to live off junk food. It was funny because when I fought Ray the first time, I was actually halfway through the McDonalds drive-thru when I got the call offering the scrap. I ate half my burger, then I was good to go. And I finished the other half of my burger following the fight.
Does your nutrionist allow you to have the odd McDonalds here and there during training camp, or are you cutting it out completely?
I can’t say completely man. You know, I might have to blame you on this because you’ve brought up McDonalds so much during this interview that I might have to go and get some [laughs]. I try to diet strictly Monday to Friday and eat the food I’m supposed to for training, but during the weekends, when we train less sessions, it’s tougher so I might get me a double cheeseburger during the downtime. If I eat junk food I tend to burn it off by training hard, and that’s the difference. And if I’ve had a tough practice, nothing will pick me up like a good old-fashioned dessert. Yo, wait up, I got your countryman Brad Pickett here.
(Jorge puts me on the phone to Brad, who fought Renan Barao at UFC 138. Brad jovially offers to translate Jorge’s English for me before passing me back to Masvidal.)
Ok, moving on from food to women. Isaac informs me that you are a bit of a ladies man?
Who don’t love women? I love women as much as the next man. Ah man, Isaac is talking me up there, trying to help me out. I mean, we go out and try. Isaac is handy with the ladies too. That’s why he and I have always got along so well since the first day we met. I took him to my spots to party and he loved it so we clicked right away. It’s like I’ve known him for years because we are into the same things.
You’re one of the few lucky fighters that had the opportunity to fight at the Playboy Mansion. Can you reveal to us the post-fight shenanigans than ensued following your TKO victory of Matt Lee back in 2007? That must have been a wild afterparty.
Im’a tell you man like I’ve told everyone, and it’ll burst your bubble. I’d heard all the rumors about the Mansion so I thought we were going to have a blast but it wasn’t that good, because the ratio was like 20-25 dudes per every chick. We chilled and ate some food, but the girl:guy ratio just wasn’t right so we ended up leaving to hit some spots out in LA. I saw Hugh [Hefner] sitting in the crowd and I would have loved to chat with him. But he was busy with his chicks and his wives doing his thing. The cage-girls were hot but I’m not sure whether they were actually bunnies.
Well thanks a lot for your time today Jorge, it’s been a pleasure.
Filed under: StrikeforceThe final Strikeforce fight card of 2011 features Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal and Cris Cyborg vs. Hiroko Yamanaka, two championship bouts on Dec. 17 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.
The final Strikeforce fight card of 2011 features Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal and Cris Cyborg vs. Hiroko Yamanaka, two championship bouts on Dec. 17 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.
Melendez, who is on a five-fight win streak, will look to defend his Strikeforce lightweight title for the third time. Masvidal is 2-0 this year and defeated K.J. Noons via unanimous decision in June to earn this title shot.
Cyborg, who is making her return after having her Strikeforce contract renewed in August, last fought back in June 2010. She’ll defend her 145-pound belt against Yamanaka, a fighter who’s made her name through the Smackgirl and JEWELS promotions in Japan.
For most fighters, winning a major championship is an ultimate career goal. Few, however, will ever get the chance to compete for one, let alone have a shiny, gold belt strapped around their waist.
Will 
The final