7 Reasons It's a Mistake to Not Bring Gilbert Melendez to the UFC NOW

Whether the UFC’s recent acquisition of Strikeforce is good or bad for the sport is a matter of open debate.  For the fans, though, the thinning of boundaries between the two organizations it is a dream come true.  Fights that were previously impossible are now coming to pass. 

Alistair Overeem will be making his debut against Brock Lesnar in the heavyweight division; Dan Henderson, holder of the Strikeforce light heavyweight strap, is coming back to the UFC, looking to fight his way to Jon Jones; and who is not excited about Georges St. Pierre versus Strikeforce’s brash young welterweight champion Nick Diaz?

Strikeforce holds one champion who is not on track to make the jump, but needs to be.  Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez is on a tear: 19 wins, two avenged losses and riding a five fight win streak. 

Here is why the UFC needs to pull the trigger and bring this phenomenal fighter into the fold right now.  

The UFC’s Lightweight Stable is Incomplete without Him

The UFC is the world’s premier MMA organization.  Its original goal was too determine which style was the dominant form of martial art.  

The sport has evolved and has brought about new renaissance in the fighting arts not seen since the days of feudal Japan when different schools promoted various approaches to fighting and routinely tested them against each other.

The rules have changed; the sport has changed; the arts have changed.  

We are no longer asking questions like “Which style is best?”  Cross-disciplinary training has rendered that question meaningless.  Now the question is, “When most other things are relatively equal, which fighter is best?”  In addition, “Which schools approach is best?”

If the UFC does not bring Gilbert Melendez, the consensus No. 2 lightweight in the world, then the organization is not equipped to answer these questions, the first in particular.

Gilbert Melendez Is at His Physical Best Right Now

How stoked were you when Mauricio “Shogun” Rua came to the UFC?  How much money did you lose on his fight with Forrest Griffin?  What about Mirko Cro Cop? 

Remember the disappointment when these guys hit the UFC past their sell by date or chronically injured? 

Nobody wants to talk wistfully about the Gilbert Melendez of old.  Nevertheless, that day is going to come, for him and all fighters.  

El Nino is currently 29 years old and reducing some of the sports best to rubble.  The next three years are likely to be his best in the sport.  Bring him aboard now.

His Work Outside the UFC Is Done

Melendez is only one of three lightweights in the Fight Matrix top eight that do not belong to the UFC.  

He already holds a recent victory over No. 4 Shinya Aoki. 

Since I do not see him running over to Bellator just to take out Eddie Alvarez, Melendez is wasting his time fighting anywhere else, and time works against fighters.  

He Cannot Reach His True Potential Outside the UFC

UFC lightweight champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar said, in the UFC 136-post fight presser, “Gray forced me to bring out the best in myself.”

Frankie Edgar has some the best take down defense in the sport.  He got by prepping for Gray Maynard. 

The fighters in the UFC are, by and large, of a different caliber than those in any other organization.  If Gilbert is brought into the organization now, healthy, young and hungry, he’s going to be three times the fighter he is today within 12 months.  

The Hype Train Is a Rollin' (Catch It Before It Leaves Town)

A quick search of Google News for Gilbert Melendez returns approximately 73 results for the year of 2010; approximately 97 for the past month; interest in Melendez is peaking.

El Nino would storm the UFC like a 12.5 on the Beufort Scale, making very big waves and doing significant structural damage to the lightweight roster.

The idea Melendez versus Cerrone, Henderson, Miller and Guida (for a rematch of their split decision) fills fight fans with hand wringing anticipation.

We All Want to Know If Gilbert Melendez Is the Best

Its been said again and again that without the fans the sport of MMA would not be what it is.  So, when the rankings, the press and the fans to agree, it is a sign of the truth. 

Melendez has proven his worth, the fans want the fight and the media is in line to support it.

Now is the time.  We have questions and the UFC has...

The Answer

Frankie "The Answer" Edgar has had his naysayers–and silenced them all.  When people scoffed at his victory of BJ Penn the world demanded he do it again.  

Then Gray Maynard got his much deserved rubber match– and lost.

And now?  What makes more sense than a unification bout between Edgar and Melendez?