Interesting news came out tonight as Gilbert Melendez and his management have earned the ire of Dana White. Zuffa and Melendez’s representation are far apart, at least according to White, and he suggested to Ariel Helwani that he field other offers. Could he be bound for somewhere else after a 1-1 record in the UFC, his last fight being a win in a wild brawl with Diego Sanchez that many called the fight of 2013?
I’m not sure … it’s interesting to speculate, of course, and most of the options for Melendez outside of the UFC could make for a wild change to the landscape in the first quarter of 2014. We need to ask two questions about this situation. The first is “What are his options?” And the second is to figure out whether or not they’d be realistic. Melendez’s future is going to come in one of five places.
Titan Fighting – The newest kid on the block and set to make their CBS Sports debut at the end of the month. Titan has signed a ton of former UFC fighters, as well as some names of note like “Big Frog” Jeff Curran, They’ve made a splash and make no bones about how they view themselves as a second tier feeder league to the UFC. I could see them saying “eff it” and throwing big money at Melendez as a center piece for their new shot. if they’re going to make a splash … well … signing a free agent of this caliber would certainly be something.
Will it happen? I highly doubt it, mainly because they’re positioning themselves as a quick way into the UFC for prospects and guys who’ve washed out of the UFC of note. Why go their when the end point would be back to Zuffa anyways?
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World Series of Fighting – The UFC’s stalking horse, of course, has been a landing pad for popular fighters who’ve been cut well before they should’ve and prospects of some name. This would be a huge splash for them as Ray Sefo and company, differentiating themselves from being seen as Zuffa’s secret partner and making a big splash. He’d be a centerpiece for them, as well.
Will it happen? WSOF is another company that’s angling themselves as a second tier feeder league to the UFC. WSOF has the same endpoint as Titan does at this point; why go there from Zuffa if you don’t have to.
One FC – They just made a splash with Ben Askren and Gilbert Melendez would make a solid second signing for them among free agents. Melendez is an elite lightweight in his prime and getting him into the fold would hurt Zuffa and give them credibility they need among the North American MMA fanbase. Melendez would be a great signing for them like Askren was but gives Melendez the same problem as Askren does: who does he face that’ll be a credible opponent.
Will it happen? I’ll say maybe at this point. One FC threw Askren a pretty big deal and I could see them offering Melendez something high enough that the UFC wouldn’t match it.
Bellator – Now this is where it gets interesting. Bellator has a great lightweight division, a ton of challengers and Michael Chandler under contract. Chandler/Melendez is an intriguing fight and Bellator has the Viacom resources to make a serious play for Melendez. He’s an elite talent in his prime and a trilogy between Chandler and Melendez for the title would probably be just as thrilling as Chandler/Alvarez has been so far. Melendez would be another big signing for the company, joining King Mo and Rampage among others, but he’d be a talent at the right time for them. They couldn’t offer him Fox, of course, but they could offer him a season of “Fight Master” and whatnot. Viacom has tons of resources at their disposal.
Will it happen? I’d go 50/50 odds on this one. Bellator has been more open to signing guys from the UFC as they hit the market as of late and Melendez makes tons of sense for them. It’d cost them a ton, of course, but having an elite talent in their ranks makes them more interesting on the surface. He makes sense as a big ticket signing and if you want to sign someone that makes your roster better immediately then it’s Melendez.
UFC – Gil’s currently negotiating with them and probably has a matching period with them when it comes to his rights. The biggest potential cash will come from them and most of his team is there as well. Negotiations that spill into public aren’t necessarily a bad thing; sometimes things leak to the public because everyone’s at a stalemate and someone wants the other to move.
Will it happen? I’ll go probable on this. Melendez thinks he’s the best lightweight in the world and one judge’s scorecard going the other direction and he’d have beaten Benson Henderson for the title on Fox. Viacom can pay him a good wage but he won’t make as much there as he could with Zuffa, most likely. He’ll also never be truly considered the best in the world, which is what he thinks he is, outside of the UFC. Eventually cooler heads will prevail and Gil will get signed; Zuffa doesn’t make it a habit of letting elite guys who can make them money walk away.
Okami and Fitch shouldn’t have been cut, of course, but they were at the downside of their usefulness. Melendez is potentially a champion and capable of being a draw. There’s too much money to be made by both sides to see the Scrap Pack member sign elsewhere.
