Gilbert Melendez

Gilbert Melendez
Gilbert Melendez in 2009, at the weigh-in before the Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg event.
Born	April 12, 1982 (1982-04-12) Santa Ana, California, United States
Other names	El Niño
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	154 lb (69.9 kg; 11.0 st)
Division	Lightweight (155 lb)
Reach	71 in (180 cm)
Style	Wrestling, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Fighting out of	San Francisco, California
Team	Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu El Niño Sports Fairtex Gym
Rank	Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Years active	2002 – present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	22
Wins	20
By knockout	11
By submission	1
By decision	8
Losses	2
By decision	2
Amateur career
Total	2
Wins	2
Other information
Website	http://www.gilbertmelendez.com/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: April 18, 2010

Gilbert Melendez (born April 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist of Mexican descent. Currently fighting out of San Francisco, California, he formerly competed in the lightweight division of PRIDE Fighting Championships and now competes in Strikeforce. He has trained extensively with Turbo Fairtex, Jake Shields, Cesar Gracie, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz and David Terrell. Melendez is the Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and has avenged both his career losses. Melendez is ranked as the #2 by Sherdog and as the #1 lightweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly and FightMagazine.com. Melendez is also ranked as the #9 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by Sherdog and Yahoo Sports. Melendez holds notable wins over Shinya Aoki, Clay Guida, Josh Thomson, Mitsuhiro Ishida and Tatsuya Kawajiri(2x).

Mixed martial arts career

Melendez aka El Nino began fighting in the pre-Zuffa World Extreme Cagefighting and Rumble on the Rock shows and also spent some time overseas where he fought for Shooto and PRIDE Fighting Championships

Melendez won the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship from Clay Guida by split decision on June 9, 2006.

Melendez held the belt for two years before losing it on June 27, 2008 to Josh Thomson by unanimous decision (50–45, 50–45, 50–45) at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson.

On April 11, 2009, Melendez was scheduled to rematch Josh Thomson for the title at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz but the bout was cancelled on April 1 as Thomson broke his ankle in training for the fight. Rodrigo Damm replaced Thomson on the card and the two squared off for the interim title which Melendez would go on to win, stopping Damm with strikes in the 2nd round.

On August 15, 2009, Melendez was again set to rematch Josh Thomson at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg but Thomson was not cleared to fight, due to lingering problems with his leg. Mitsuhiro Ishida was selected to replace Thomson in what became Melendez' first Interim title defense.

On December 19, 2009, Melendez fought Josh Thomson to unify the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship belts. Melendez won the fight via unanimous decision to become the Undisputed Lightweight Champion. With the win he also avenged the second of his only two losses to date.

Melendez successfully defended the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship against current DREAM Lightweight Champion and former Shooto Middleweight Champion Shinya Aoki on April 17, 2010.

A rematch between Melendez and Tatsuya Kawajiri took take place on April 9, 2011 at Strikeforce 33 in April. Melendez dominated his opponent showing excellent striking, knocking down Kawajiri with a right hand near the beginning of the fight. Melendez then again knocked down Kawajiri with a combination of knees to the body and a right hook followed by a right uppercut. The beginning of the end came when Melendez sprawled one of Kawajiri's takedowns and then began landing short left hands which knocked Kawajiri down into half-guard where Melendez began landing vicious right elbows before the referee stopped the fight declaring Melendez the winner by TKO 3:14 into the first round.

Melendez faced Jorge Masvidal next. UFC president Dana White briefly put the bout in question when he revealed to reporters that he was working to bring Gilbert Melendez into the UFC fold "ASAP" with the possibility of Melendez entering with an immediate shot at the belt. Melendez eventually defended his title against challenger Jorge Masvidal at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Personal life

Melendez and his girlfriend Keri Anne have a daughter, Leylakay Valentina Melendez, born August 8, 2010.

Film and Television

Melendez is starring alongside teammates Jake Shields and Nick Diaz in the mixed martial arts documentary Fight Life, the film is directed by independent filmmaker James Z. Feng and produced by RiLL Films, set for release in the summer of 2011.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed Martial Arts

• Strikeforce
  • Strikeforce Lightweight Championship (Two times; Current)
  • Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Championship (One time)
  • Most championship bouts in Strikeforce (Nine)
  • Most successful Strikeforce title defenses (Five)
  • Tied (Nick Diaz) for most consecutive Strikeforce title defenses (Three)
  • Most wins in Strikeforce (Ten)
  • Tied (Josh Thomson) for most bouts in Strikeforce (Eleven)

• World Extreme Cagefighting
  • WEC Lightweight Championship (One time; First)

• Sports Illustrated
  • 2009 Round of the Year vs. Josh Thomson on December 19; Round 5

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
22 matches	20 wins	2 losses
By knockout	11	0
By submission	1	0
By decision	8	2

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	20-2	Jorge Masvidal	Decision (unanimous)	Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal	02011-12-17December 17, 2011	5	5:00	San Diego, California, United States	Defended Strikeforce Lightweight Championship.
Win	19-2	Tatsuya Kawajiri	TKO (elbows)	Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley	02011-04-09April 9, 2011	1	3:14	San Diego, California, United States	Defended Strikeforce Lightweight Championship.
Win	18-2	Shinya Aoki	Decision (unanimous)	Strikeforce: Nashville	02010-04-17April 17, 2010	5	5:00	Nashville, Tennessee, United States	Defended Strikeforce Lightweight Championship.
Win	17-2	Josh Thomson	Decision (unanimous)	Strikeforce: Evolution	02009-12-19December 19, 2009	5	5:00	San Jose, California, United States	Won and unified Strikeforce Lightweight Championship.
Win	16-2	Mitsuhiro Ishida	TKO (punches)	Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg	02009-08-15August 15, 2009	3	3:56	San Jose, California, United States	Defended Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Championship.
Win	15-2	Rodrigo Damm	KO (punches)	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz	02009-04-11April 11, 2009	2	2:02	San Jose, California, United States	Won Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Championship.
Loss	14–2	Josh Thomson	Decision (unanimous)	Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson	02008-06-27June 27, 2008	5	5:00	San Jose, California, United States	Lost Strikeforce Lightweight Championship.
Win	14–1	Gabe Lemley	TKO (punches)	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le	02008-03-29March 29, 2008	2	2:18	San Jose, California, United States	Defended Strikeforce Lightweight Championship.
Loss	13–1	Mitsuhiro Ishida	Decision (unanimous)	Yarennoka!	02007-12-31December 31, 2007	2	5:00	Saitama, Saitama
Win	13–0	Tetsuji Kato	Decision (unanimous)	Strikeforce: Playboy Mansion	02007-09-29September 29, 2007	3	5:00	Beverly Hills, California, United States	Non-title bout.
Win	12–0	Tatsuya Kawajiri	Decision (unanimous)	Pride Shockwave 2006	02006-12-31December 31, 2006	2	5:00	Saitama, Saitama
Win	11–0	Nobuhiro Obiya	Decision (unanimous)	Pride Bushido 12	02006-08-26August 26, 2006	2	5:00	Nagoya, Japan
Win	10–0	Clay Guida	Decision (split)	Strikeforce: Revenge	02006-06-09June 9, 2006	5	5:00	San Jose, California, United States	Won Strikeforce Lightweight Championship.
Win	9–0	Harris Sarmiento	Submission (punches)	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie	02006-03-10March 10, 2006	2	0:44	San Jose, California, United States
Win	8–0	Rumina Sato	TKO (cut)	Shooto: Alive Road	02005-08-20August 20, 2005	1	1:32	Yokohama, Japan	Shooto Lightweight (143 lb) bout.
Win	7–0	Naoya Uematsu	TKO (cut)	Shooto 2005: 5/4 in Korakuen Hall	02005-05-04May 4, 2005	2	4:30	Tokyo, Japan	Shooto Lightweight (143 lb) bout.
Win	6–0	Hiroyuki Takaya	Decision (unanimous)	Shooto 2004: Year-End Show	02004-12-14December 14, 2004	3	5:00	Tokyo, Japan	Shooto Lightweight (143 lb) bout.
Win	5–0	Kaynan Kaku	TKO (punches)	K-1 Fighting Network Rumble on the Rock 2004	02004-11-20November 20, 2004	2	3:58	Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Win	4–0	Olaf Alfonso	TKO (punches)	WEC 10	02004-05-21May 21, 2004	3	4:54	Lemoore, California, United States	Won inaugural WEC Lightweight Championship.
Win	3–0	Stephen Palling	TKO (punches)	Rumble on the Rock 4	02003-10-10October 10, 2003	2	4:59	Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Win	2–0	Jeff Hougland	TKO (punches)	WEC 6	02003-03-27March 27, 2003	2	2:05	Lemoore, California, United States
Win	1–0	Greg Quan	TKO (punches)	WEC 5	02002-10-18October 18, 2002	1	4:37	Lemoore, California, United States

See also

• List of current mixed martial arts champions
• List of male mixed martial artists

External links

• Professional MMA record for Gilbert Melendez from Sherdog
• Official Pride Website
• Gilbert Melendez' Myspace
• December, 2006 Interview

Awards and achievements
New championship	1st WEC Lightweight Champion May 21, 2004 – October 21, 2004	Vacant Melendez left WEC Title next held by Gabe Ruediger
Preceded by Clay Guida	2nd Strikeforce Lightweight Champion June 9, 2006 – June 27, 2008	Succeeded by Josh Thomson
New championship	1st Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Champion April 11, 2009 – December 19, 2009	Vacant Won Strikeforce Lightweight Championship
Preceded by Josh Thomson	4th Strikeforce Lightweight Champion December 19, 2009 – present	Current holder