Gilbert Melendez

When talking about the lightweights of MMA one name near the top of many lists is Gilbert Melendez. But I’ve noticed a trend lately, where once people had Gil at #3 or #4 he is now sliding downward as the UFC Lightweight pool gets deeper and he remains trapped in Strikeforce. I don’t blame him for having trouble “finding motivation” anymore. He can out class anyone SF can throw at him and while not fully committing to the idea of a Josh Thompson rematch he still managed to grab a split decision. At 30 years he is not getting any younger and I fear that by time he inevitably brought to the UFC he will have started his decline. It’s frustrating to watch a fighter like Gilbert remain trapped in a dying organization. I’m confident he’ll make it to the UFC someday, I just hope it is not too late.