Gilbert Melendez: The Baby in a Million

Many fans of martial arts know well that Mexicans are born fighters, endowed with iron will and patience. One of these masters of mixed style, whose fights come to see thousands of people, is Gilbert Melendez. About his life and sports career and will be discussed in this article.

Birth and family

An American of Mexican descent was born on April 12, 1984 in the state of California, Santa Ana. Gilbert Melendez is not the only child of his parents, because he has two more sisters. The family of the current MMA star, although it has Mexican roots, but still communicates in English.

After school, Gilbert entered the State University of San Francisco, but did not finish it, as preparation for various MMA competitions was held outside the city limits. By the way, in the world of mixed martial arts the guy was tightened by his friend Jake Shields.

Performances at a high level

His career as a professional Gilbert Melendez began in 2002. Initially, he fought in an organization called WEC, where he quickly became a champion under the guidance of his coach Caesar Gracie.

Since 2004, Gilbert Melendez fights often take place in both America and Japan. In the US, he became a member of the Strikeforce League, and also beats in the leading Japanese promotions - PRIDE and Shooto. In the American organization in 2006, he became a champion, breaking the resistance of then champion Clay Gweed.

The first defeat Melendez suffered in the battle against Mitsuhiro Isis in 2007. And six months later, the American loses his Strikeforce title, losing by points to Josh Thompson. This defeat pushed the Baby (Gilbert's nickname) to even more zealous training. And in April 2009, he knocked Rodrigo Damme out, which gives him the status of an interim promoter, since Thompson could not defend his title because of a trauma. Somewhat later, there was a rematch with Josh, in which Melendez celebrated the victory. This allowed him to become again a full-fledged division champion.

The succession of successful battles continued with a victory over the Asian prospect of Xinyi Aoki. The Japanese wrestler made 18 passes to the legs of the champion, but Gilbert Melendez was able to stop all attempts of the opponent to transfer the fight to the ground. As a result, the American won by a unanimous decision.

The next title defense also proved successful for Babe. This time he won by knockout Tatsui Kavadziri, and for this the champion took only three minutes.

In the spring of 2012, there was a third fight between Melendez and Thompson. The fight ended in a rather controversial split judging decision. The victory was again celebrated by Gilbert, but many spectators and specialists considered that in that battle Josh was deprived of the deserved title.

Going to the Ultimate Fighting Championship

The debut in the UFC for Gilbert came in 2013. Melendez already in the first fight met the champion of promotion Benson Henderson. The bout turned out to be fairly equal, but Ben gave the victory.

The fight "Diego Sanchez - Gilbert Melendez" was held at UFC 166. The battle ended with the victory of the Kid on points.

In December 2014 Melendez again got a chance to challenge the championship title. This time, his rival was Anthony Pettis. From the very beginning of the fight, Gilbert went ahead and literally filled the champion with blows, but already in the second five minutes Pettis was able to hold a stifling reception and forced Melendez to surrender.

June 13, 2015 Melendez met in the octagon with Eddie Alvarez. The battle took place in Mexico. In the first five minutes Gilbert easily interrupted in the rack of his opponent and even injured him, but Eddie could still turn the tide of the fight and wrest victory.

In June 2015, Gilbert agreed to replace the injured Green against Yakvinta. But as a result of testing in the blood, the baby was found doping. In this regard, he received a disqualification for one year.

In July 2016, Edson Barbosa - Gilbert Melendez duel took place. This fight lasted all the allotted rounds and ended in favor of the Kid. During the bout, he missed a lot of low kicks, which resulted in his left leg being swollen after the final gong. Thus, the opposition "Edson Barbosa - Gilbert Melendez" ended with the victory of the first fighter. For our hero, this defeat was the sixth in his career.

Personal life

Melendez is married. His wife Carey Ann also professionally engaged in sports and performs in kickboxing battles. In 2010, the couple had a daughter.