Gilbert Melendez
Gilbert Melendez in 2009, at the weigh-in before the Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg event.
Born	April 12, 1982 (1982-04-12) (age 28) Santa Ana, California, United States
Other names	El Niño
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)
Division	155
Style	Wrestling, BJJ Muay Thai
Fighting out of	San Francisco, California
Team	El Nino Sports / Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
Rank	purple belt in BJJ
Years active	2002–present
MMA record
Total	20
Wins	18
By knockout	10
By submission	1
By decision	7
Losses	2
By decision	2
Draws	0
Other information
Official website
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: April 18, 2010

Gilbert Melendez (born April 12, 1982) is a Mexican-American professional mixed martial arts fighter from Santa Ana, California. Currently fighting out of San Francisco, California, he formerly competed in the lightweight division of PRIDE Fighting Championships and now competes in Strikeforce. He did not like his team in San Francisco, because they wouldn't push themselves as much which started his interest in MMA. He has trained extensively with Turbo Fairtex, Jake Shields, Cesar Gracie, Nick Diaz, and Dave Terrell. Melendez is the Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and has avenged both his career losses.

MMA career

Gilbert began fighting in the old World Extreme Cagefighting and Rumble on the Rock shows and also spent some time overseas where he fought for Shooto and PRIDE Fighting Championships

Gilbert 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 Shooto Middleweight Champion Shinya Aoki on April 17, 2010.

Strikeforce: Nashville Post-Fight Brawl

Melendez was one of the members of the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu team who participated in a post fight brawl live on CBS after Jake Shields defeated Dan Henderson. Jason Miller somehow gained access to the cage, and interrupted Shields, asking "Where's my rematch buddy?", into the microphone referring to a previous fight between the two at Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers in 2009. Gilbert Melendez and Jake Shields would then shove Miller followed by Nick Diaz throwing the initial punch at Miller which would lead to the brawl. Miller would be wrestled to the floor by members of Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. While Miller was restrained on the ground members of Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu would begin to attack him. The fight would eventually be broken up by members of security and Dan Henderson's corner.

Personal life

Gilbert and his girlfriend Keri Anne are expecting their first child, a girl in late 2010.

MMA record

Record	Result	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
18–2	Win	Shinya Aoki	Decision (Unanimous)	Strikeforce: Nashville	2010-04-17	Round 5	5:00	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.	Defended the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship
17–2	Win	Josh Thomson	Decision (Unanimous)	Strikeforce: Evolution	2009-12-19	Round 5	5:00	San Jose, California, U.S.	Won and Unified Strikeforce Lightweight Championship
16–2	Win	Mitsuhiro Ishida	TKO (Punches)	Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg	2009-08-15	Round 3	3:56	San Jose, California, U.S.	Defended the Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Championship
15–2	Win	Rodrigo Damm	KO (Punches)	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz	2009-04-11	Round 2	2:02	San Jose, California, U.S.	Won the Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Championship
14–2	Loss	Josh Thomson	Decision (Unanimous)	Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson	2008-06-27	Round 5	5:00	San Jose, California, U.S.	Lost the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship
14–1	Win	Gabe Lemley	TKO (Punches)	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le	2008-03-29	Round 2	2:18	San Jose, California, U.S.	Defended the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship
13–1	Loss	Mitsuhiro Ishida	Decision (Unanimous)	Yarennoka - New Year's Eve 2007	2007-12-31	Round 2	5:00	Saitama, Japan
13–0	Win	Tetsuji Kato	Decision (Unanimous)	Strikeforce: Playboy Mansion	2007-09-29	Round 3	5:00	Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
12–0	Win	Tatsuya Kawajiri	Decision (Unanimous)	PRIDE Shockwave 2006	2006-12-31	Round 2	5:00	Saitama, Japan
11–0	Win	Nobuhiro Obiya	Decision (Unanimous)	PRIDE Bushido 12	2006-08-26	Round 2	5:00	Nagoya, Japan
10–0	Win	Clay Guida	Decision (Split)	Strikeforce: Revenge	2006-06-09	Round 5	5:00	San Jose, California, U.S.	Won Strikeforce Lightweight Championship
9–0	Win	Harris Sarmiento	Submission (Strikes)	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie	2006-03-10	Round 2	0:44	San Jose, California, U.S.
8–0	Win	Rumina Sato	TKO (Cut)	Shooto: Alive Road	2005-08-20	Round 1	1:32	Yokohama, Japan
7–0	Win	Naoya Uematsu	TKO (Cut)	Shooto 2005: 5/4 in Korakuen Hall	2005-08-20	Round 2	4:30	Lemoore, California, U.S.
6–0	Win	Hiroyuki Takaya	Decision (Unanimous)	Shooto 2004: Year-End Show	2004-12-14	Round 3	5:00	Tokyo, Japan
5–0	Win	Kaynan Kaku	TKO (Punches)	K-1 Fighting Network Rumble on the Rock 2004	2004-11-20	Round 2	3:58	Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
4–0	Win	Olaf Alfonso	TKO (Punches)	WEC 10: Bragging Rights	2004-05-21	Round 3	4:54	Lemoore, California, U.S.	Became first WEC Lightweight Champion
3–0	Win	Stephen Palling	TKO (Punches)	Rumble on the Rock 4	2003-10-10	Round 2	4:59	Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
2–0	Win	Jeff Hougland	TKO (Punches)	WEC 6: Return of a Legend	2003-03-27	Round 2	2:05	Lemoore, California, U.S.
1–0	Win	Greg Quan	TKO (Punches)	WEC 5: Halloween Fury	2002-10-18	Round 1	4:37	Lemoore, California, U.S.

See also

• 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

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Strikeforce Current Champions Heavyweight Alistair Overeem Light Heavyweight Muhammed Lawal Middleweight Jake Shields Welterweight Nick Diaz Lightweight Gilbert Melendez Women's Featherweight Cristiane Santos Women's Bantamweight Sarah Kaufman