"I want to fight Benson Henderson," Melendez told Bleacher Report. "I think a champion versus champion fight makes absolute sense right now. I think we already know how things are going to work out between Benson Henderson and a lot of other lightweight fighters in the UFC, but I'm that mystery fighter. No one really knows how I'm going to matchup with anyone. I have been around for a long time and have been the top lightweight in the world before Benson or any of these other guys.
"I think I have a lot of answers for his style. Sometimes he fights a wrestler like Guida who doesn't have great hands and sometimes he fights strikers who can't really wrestle. Look his fights against "Cowboy" Cerrone back in the day or even Pettis. I have that wrestling pedigree where he ain't taking me down and I'll be stuffing some shots. I'm not backing away and I'll be dropping some bombs. I'm not an easy guy to stand with. I have a lot of power and I'm not running away from kicks. I don't run away from anything. I hold my ground. I'll be coming for him and anything he dishes out I'll be answering back twice as hard.
"I think everyone would be really excited for this matchup and I guarantee it would be a great fight. We can do it in the Octagon or the Strikeforce cage -- it doesn't matter to me. Henderson is the fight I want and let's make it happen."
I think Gilbert is pretty overrated TBH. He will be a top 10 LW in the UFC but I doubt he'll ever contend for the title if he doesn't receive an immediate title shot upon entering the UFC.
He won't fight Nate, can't see him beating Pettis, Maynard or Jim Miller. Cerrone is a toss up.
He could lose if he gets matched up with guys like Nurmagomedov, Lauzon, TJ Grant, Dos Anjos, even Tibau and Volkmann and it's not as if the majority of MMA fans really know much about those guys (aside from Lauzon), so a loss to any of those guys would really damage Gilbert's career and the likelihood if him losing to these guys really isn't as small as some may think.
Melendez is way over-hyped in my opinion. I really don't see him beating any top competition in the UFC. His two biggest wins were against Clay Guida and Josh Thompson. And he lost his first fight to Thompson unanimously. He doesn't deserve a title shot right off the rip and really should prove himself before he's given a title shop.
Chandler is a savage, there's no doubt about that. I really, really want to see Alvarez/Chandler 2. 155 has so much talent. Chandler, Alvarez and Gil all under the same roof would be amazing.
I agree that he is not a finished product, but man you guys are overrating Chandler. He is a very solid fighter but he wouldn't be a top 5 UFC LW let alone champ right now.
His whole career thus far is based off a good performance over Alverez...another highly overrated fighter. Chandler started gassing half way through that fight...that won't fly vs. the Pettis', Bendo's, and Diaz's of the UFC. Chandler is well-rounded but does nothing real well.
Alverez would get dropped and finished in the UFC. Chandler would lose decisions in my opinion.
As for Gil, I'm not sure. Everyone wants to jump off he wagon because many feel Thompson won that last fight. I don't think he would beat the champ right now either. But would't mind him getting a shot.
I agree that he is not a finished product, but man you guys are overrating Chandler. He is a very solid fighter but he wouldn't be a top 5 UFC LW let alone champ right now.
His whole career thus far is based off a good performance over Alverez...another highly overrated fighter. Chandler started gassing half way through that fight...that won't fly vs. the Pettis', Bendo's, and Diaz's of the UFC. Chandler is well-rounded but does nothing real well.
Alverez would get dropped and finished in the UFC. Chandler would lose decisions in my opinion.
As for Gil, I'm not sure. Everyone wants to jump off he wagon because many feel Thompson won that last fight. I don't think he would beat the champ right now either. But would't mind him getting a shot.
No he has solid wins over Held, Woodard, Pitbull and Alvarez. Those guys are no push overs. Just because they don't have the 3 magic letters on the gloves doesn't mean they aren't talented.
Melendez shouldn't get a title shot right away, he should fight the top UFC LW contender and if he wins then he should get a shot at Bendo because he is a champion....
I love Benson Henderson. He's by far my favorite fighter in the UFC. I would be ecstatic to see him fight Melendez, but I really want to see him avenge that loss to Pettis.
This is only semi-relevant, but Alvarez says he only trains for 1 round, I don't know if he can finish a lot of the UFC guys in that time.
The lighter weights in Bellator are truly stacked, I wish the UFC could just sign them all.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Mixed Martial Arts Forum
1.9M posts
52.9K members
Since 2006
A mixed martial art forum community dedicated to the different arts of MMA. Come talk about UFC results, Bellator matches, The Ultimate Fighter and more!