Strikeforce: Gilbert Melendez Open to Dominating Strikeforce First, Then UFC

Gilbert Melendez came out last night against Tatsuya Kawajiri and just absolutely went nuts.

Melendez pushed an aggressive pace to begin the first round, and Kawajiri just could not handle what Melendez was throwing.

Melendez won with a dominant TKO, first-round victory. It was Melendez's second title defense since unifying the Strikeforce lightweight title against Josh Thomson at Strikeforce: Evolution in December of 2009.

This time, though, Melendez, the No. 3-ranked lightweight in the world according to Sherdog, was performing in front of a bigger crowd attended by UFC president Dana White and Zuffa co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta. 

"Oh yeah definitely. That's all going through my mind until like, the cage is closed and I can walk in there and zone it out," Melendez said in an interview with Ariel Helwani post-fight.

"But yeah, I feel the pressure in there, but it's fun cause like I said, Dana White's the Alan Greenspan of MMA and if he says my stock is up, my stock is up. I'm excited to do it. I want to display my stuff, I want him to say I'm a good fighter, you know what I mean? If he says I'm good, then the world thinks I'm good."

Melendez also now retains his belt as Strikeforce lightweight king. Afterwards, he talked about how he was open to keep defending his belt against less-exciting competition over possibly unifying the titles with the UFC.

"But like I said, sometimes that part of being the champ, defending the throne and all obstacles. They're going to throw all kinds of things at me," said Melendez. "Obviously it's more motivating to fight for the UFC strap, but you know sometimes fighting guys you're suppose to kick your butt on, gets a little harder.

"But that's part of being the champ and I accept the challenge and rise up to the occasion like I always do."

Of course, when asked who the best lightweight in the world was, he didn't say Gray Maynard or Frankie Edgar, who are set to face each other for the UFC lightweight belt in May.

"Gilbert Melendez, baby," Melendez said, smirking. "I'm trying to make a statement here and I love to fight. I really do love to fight."

To watch the full interview between MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani and Gilbert Melendez, click here.