Gilbert Melendez (21-3, 0-1 UFC) vs. Diego Sanchez (24-5, 13-5 UFC)
A lightweight battle takes the spotlight on a stacked UFC 166 card as former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez fights for the second time inside the Octagon against another former title challenger, Diego Sanchez. Melendez fought for the UFC Lightweight Championship title in his first UFC bout, but lost a razor-thin decision to Benson Henderson in April. He is 7-1 over his last eight fights. Sanchez fights for the second time in 2013 and is looking to build on a decision win over Takanori Gomi in March. He is 3-3 over his last six fights.
Fight Breakdown- Melendez had long been regarded as the best lightweight in the world not signed to the UFC prior to his transition over from Strikeforce following the closure of that promotion in January. A long-time champion in Strikeforce, Melendez was immediately put into a title fight against Benson Henderson, and he showed that he was truly one of the best 155-pound fighters in the world as he took Henderson to the limit and came very, very close to winning the UFC’s top prize at lightweight. However, Henderson got the decision and Melendez looks to get back into the win column. With the close nature of his loss to Henderson, Melendez could be as few as one fight away from fighting for the title again, which is now held by Anthony Pettis. Pettis defends against Josh Thomson in December, and it would be a nice homage to Strikeforce if Thomson and Melendez were to fight for the UFC title after their long rivalry in Strikeforce, where Melendez won two of their three fights but in close fashion.
Sanchez has fought for the UFC Lightweight Championship once before, but it was at a time when B.J. Penn was lighting the lightweight world on fire. He lost to Penn in what may have been the best performance of Penn’s career, and that is saying a lot. Sanchez has bounced between divisions in his UFC career, fighting as a welterweight before moving down to the lightweight division in search of that elusive title shot. Following the loss to Penn, he went back to welterweight, but a 2-2 stint helped him decide to move back down to the 155-pound division. He scored a win over Takanori Gomi in March in his lightweight return, but he had an issue making weight as he came in two pounds over the lightweight limit. All reports say that Sanchez is in fantastic shape, and hopefully he will show no signs of ring rust from fighting only three times over the last three years as he and Melendez have the chance to steal the show on this stacked card.
These two fighters are opposites as Sanchez is a very aggressive fighter who will push the pace of the fight while Melendez is very relaxed, composed and patient and is excellent at executing a gameplan. Sanchez may find himself in trouble if he tries to get over-aggressive as Melendez will make him pay for his mistakes. Outworking Melendez for 15 minutes will be difficult for Sanchez as Melendez is used to going 25 minutes, something he has done six times over his last nine fights. Sanchez has never gone a full 25 minutes, and in his title fight against Penn, he made it to the fifth round, but a lot of that was due to heart as he was tired from taking a brutal beating at the hands of Penn. Sanchez’ unrelenting pressure on the feet can cause a lot of his striking attacks to miss, and Melendez has become a better striker every time he shows up to a fight, and his counter-punching is very, very good. Melendez lands very clean punches with a lot of accuracy, and he does have some good power in his hands. While he has been the distance a lot, he has also finished fights with his striking, and his footwork and kicks and knees in close range are very good.
Both men are solid in the takedown department, both on offense and defense. Sanchez used to come out with a relentless approach to taking the fight to the ground, but he has turned into more of a brawler lately, but he will still use the takedown if he can get the advantage with it. In his last fight with Thomson, Melendez had trouble with trip takedowns and Thomson was getting him down, but Melendez can get right back up, and his ground game is excellent. Melendez is better when it comes to groundwork, so Sanchez should capitalize on creating scrambles and landing punches as they rush back to the feet. Melendez’ cardio is hard to drain and he is so used to going 25 minutes that going 15 will not be a problem. Sanchez has faded late in past fights, but he hasn’t been in the same type of shape as he has in years past. He is in better shape right now, though, and all of these tools that both men have make for a very interesting battle. They have trained together in the past, and they respect each other very much, and it will be a fun fight while it lasts. Melendez is just slightly better in everything than Sanchez is, and he will be ready to weather the early storm and take the fight late on the judges’ scorecards.
Why It Matters- Both have fought for the UFC Lightweight Championship before, and both want to have the chance to fight for it again. Melendez may be closer to getting a title shot with a win, and an impressive win could make him next in line. While Sanchez is, at the moment, further away from title contention, a win over Melendez would vault him fast up the lightweight rankings and put him very, very close to title contention. They want the bonus for “Fight Of The Night”, and title contention hangs in the balance. This one will be fun.
Prediction- Melendez
