Will "El Nino" Storm the UFC Lightweight Division?

Will “El Nino” Storm the UFC Lightweight Division?

by Wesley A. Fiorentino

Last Saturday, April 9, Gilbert Melendez defended his lightweight title in violent fashion. His unfortunate opponent: Tatsuya “the Crusher” Kawajiri.

He had beaten Kawajiri once before back at PRIDE Shockwave 2006 via judges’ decision. However, many actually thought Kawajiri had deserved the decision.

Melendez didn't let any controversy find its way into the outcome of the rematch. He stopped Kawajiri with strikes, brutally and efficiently, in the first round at “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley.”

Kawajiri is just one more top-ranked 155 lb. opponent utterly defeated at the hands of "El Nino.”

Twelve of Melendez’s nineteen career victories have come via stoppage to due strikes, a rate of roughly sixty-three percent. Compare that with a rate of twenty percent for top UFC lightweight contender Gray Maynard and approximately thirty-eight percent for reigning UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.

With the purchase of Strikeforce by Zuffa, LLC., parent company of the UFC, fans and critics alike have begun to clamor for Melendez to enter the UFC and challenge for the title.

None of the Strikeforce titleholders make a stronger claim for a fight with a UFC champion than Gilbert Melendez.

Will the fans see Melendez fight under the UFC banner? Michael David Smith of mmafighting.com seems to think another year or so will pass before that happens:

“It will probably be 2012 before we get to see that: UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar has to fight Gray Maynard in May, and the winner of that fight is expected to fight the winner of the June Anthony Pettis-Clay Guida bout after that.”

If Anthony Pettis defeats Clay Guida and moves on to fight the winner of UFC 130’s lightweight title bout, there is a large degree of uncertainty as to who the next number one contender is. Jim Miller is one fighter, in particular, who has made a strong case with his string of recent victories.

But does Miller or any other current UFC lightweight have a stronger case than Gilbert Melendez?

Melendez has long been considered one of the sport’s top lightweights. Having avenged both of his career losses and sporting wins over the likes of Josh Thomson, Shinya Aoki, and Tatsuya Kawajiri certainly bolster his résumé.

Furthermore, with few or no legitimate challengers to Melendez’s Strikeforce title, it is almost inevitable that he will be fighting for the UFC lightweight championship within a year.

There is a precedent for the treatment of a Strikeforce champion entering the UFC.

When former Strikeforce titleholder Jake Shields signed with the UFC, he was given a fight with Martin Kampmann before being allowed to challenge Georges St. Pierre for the UFC welterweight title.

Should Melendez receive similar treatment, or should he be allowed to immediately challenge for the UFC title?

There will certainly be a contingent which argues that he should be placed directly into a match-up with the UFC lightweight champion. Since losing his title in 2008, Melendez has been on a five-fight winning streak, during which he avenged both of his career losses.

Melendez arguably holds the only major lightweight title other than that of the UFC, and now these two titles are both overseen by Zuffa, LLC.

In all likelihood, Zuffa will indeed match Melendez up against another UFC lightweight contender before placing him in a title bout. However, this does not mean that there is another lightweight contender with a more convincing case than him.

To phrase it simply: if Anthony Pettis defeats Clay Guida and challenges the winner of Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard III for the lightweight title, Gilbert Melendez should be the next man in line.

via mmacrypt.com

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