Eddie Alvarez vs Gilbert Melendez? Bellator champ responds to recent challenge from 'El Nino'
by Press Release on May 16, 2010 1:23 AM EDT
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CHICAGO, Ill. (May 15, 2010) - Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney responded today to Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez's call-out of reigning Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez, saying that he will do everything in his power to make the fight happen.
Melendez, appearing on this weekend's edition of HDNet's "Inside MMA," told hosts Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten that he would "love to fight Eddie Alvarez."
"I think he's an amazing fighter and that's why I call out Eddie Alvarez - let's unify those titles," Melendez said. "I'd love to fight that guy and test myself. I think if I could beat him, I could be No. 1 and vice-versa."
Rebney said an Alvarez-Melendez fight would be "a great matchup between two of the best in the world."
"As an MMA fan, first and foremost, Alvarez versus Melendez is an awesome fight at 155 that deserves to be seen and needs to be made," Rebney said. "Gilbert has the heart of a warrior, just like our champion Eddie. I will do everything I can to get Gilbert what he asked for. Gilbert wants the fight, Eddie wants the fight and I want the fight. All we have to do is get Scott Coker on board and together we can make this happen. Eddie wants to fight the best and Gilbert wants to fight the best and there is no reason why any promoter or network should stand in the way of that."
Alvarez (22-2) was crowned Bellator's Lightweight World Champion last summer and is now the consensus No. 3-ranked 155-pounder in the world. He reaffirmed that status earlier this month with an impressive rear-naked-choke submission of former UFC standout Josh Neer before a nationwide audience on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo.
Melendez (20-2) won the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship belt from Josh Thomson last December and then defended the title late last month with a dominating unanimous decision victory over Shinya Aoki before a national TV audience on CBS. The 28-year-old is generally regarded as one of the top lightweights in the world.
Reached at his home in Philadelphia on Saturday, the 26-year-old Alvarez said he would relish the chance to take on Melendez on a national stage.
"Gilbert is a great fighter who's got a lot of momentum going right now," Alvarez said. "This is the match-up that all the fans want to see and it'd be a shame if it didn't happen. I want to do it, Bjorn wants to do it and it sounds like Gilbert wants to do it. If I could sum up my thoughts in four words, it'd be: ‘Let's make it happen.'"
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though i dont agree with how you put it, i do believe melvin could beat them
but really so could over half of the ufc lw division anyone who thinks they could be number1 is ridiculous
by randy murders on May 16, 2010 1:38 AM EDT up reply actions
I can't tell if you guys are trolling.
by NNR (formerly NameNotRequired) on May 16, 2010 1:41 AM EDT up reply actions
And if they took him down then they'd submit him in seconds
Eddie and Gil are 2 world class well rounded fighters and are easily top 5. Just because they are not in the UFC does not mean that they are lesser fighters and I’m amazed that anyone on here would have that sort of attitude.
I’d love to see this fight both have good striking and better grappling. They are the best 2 LWs outside of the UFC and are unchallenged in SF and Bellator so it would be amazing if they could co-promote this fight. I’d rank the winner as the best LW in the world as BJ just lost to Frankie and the champ himself hasn’t proven himself anymore than these 2.
As for the fight I think that Gils cardio would be the difference, he could push the pace for 5 rounds and wear out Eddie with his striking and wrestling whilst his BJJ is too good for Eddie to catch him with a submission. It’d be a very tough test but I’m confident that my boy could get the job done again in a close, action packed decision.
"Kimbo Slice sucks like I've been saying for the last few months, this fucking guy can't fight and he got knocked out in 13 seconds" (Dana White)
"The one thing we know about Kimbo Slice, this guy is a fighter, this guy will come to fight" (Dana White)
by David W-S on May 16, 2010 1:55 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
glesion tibau and ronys torres took him down?? what happened in those fights?
oh yeah melvin got right back up and crusied to an easy decision win. sohow would it be different with these two??? their not jiu jitsu experts by any stretch melvins stand up as one of the bests in the lw division
West
Melendez just neutralised Aoki on the ground and beat him up from his guard, Eddie wins most of his fights by submission
Melvin’s been caught a bunch of times by gettting sloppy like he did against Diaz, Neer and Clementi. He should have lost the Tibau fight anyway and was gifted that decision and he didn’t look that great against Torres either. His striking isn’t that good, he’s not KO’d or outboxed any top LWs and would never get the chance to anyway against top grapplers like Gil or Eddie as they would take him down repeatedly. Melvin is a decent fighter but he’s not on the same level as these 2 and the only reason he’s in the UFC and they’re not is that he’s a loudmouth TUF reject so he’s cheaper and more popular.
"Kimbo Slice sucks like I've been saying for the last few months, this fucking guy can't fight and he got knocked out in 13 seconds" (Dana White)
"The one thing we know about Kimbo Slice, this guy is a fighter, this guy will come to fight" (Dana White)
mevlin comes from a wrestling background
plus he is almost a blackbelt in judo. dennis sivers a pretty good striker but what happened to him when he fought melvin? knocked out in 30 seconds. now that his with greg jackson he should climb up the ladder with ease and beat whoever the champ is. melvin is one of those very rare athletes in mma like kevin randleman phil davis gsp etc
West
Let's be real, Dennis had no shot against him, Melvin's speed and power far outweighed anything Dennis brought.
Also the Gleison tibau wasn’t an easy decision. Gleison won that fight. Throwing two or three kicks to the body don’t win you rounds. Melvin is very talented though and he has the potential to be great. Only time will tell, he’s not the first rare athlete that has blown it..
by NNR (formerly NameNotRequired) on May 16, 2010 8:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Speaking of Clementi
Anyone knows where he’s been? He is a decent talent, not a title contener so to speak, but solid and provides some good fights. Now that Gay Maynard is a title contender and undefeated, his getting released for be layed on while he at least fights is frustrating.
by Mayhem chimpanzee on Sep 3, 2010 9:43 AM EDT up reply actions
Got to disagree with you
I dont think Gils cardio is any better than Eddies i think they would cancel each other out in cardio wrestling and striking but i think Eddie is just a bit more explosive some might just beat Gil to the punch a few times more
Some men are alive simpley because it is against the law to kill them
Because Guillard has a history of KO'ing the big names?
He has 13 ko’s of c level talent. He has not even ko’d a solid b level guy. All of his loses come to b level fighters and he is going to KO Melendez or Alvarez. Alvarez’s boxing is just as good as anybodies in the LW division and Melendez’s standup has become super solid over the years. Melvin can not even be in the same category as Alvarez and Melendez…
I was a fool for ever doubting Shogun. I should be ashamed for never giving him a chance to get healthy. Shogun made Machida look B-level-Just like my bet made me look b-level!
oh but alvarez and melendez are known for fighting a level talent every fight right???
letss see the only big wins eddie has is over joachim hansen and josh neer everybody else blows. gilbert only has wins over clay guida shinya aoki and josh thompson. as far as im concerned their all in the same boat here
West
by Mr. Go Dumb on May 16, 2010 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Shinya Aoki....
Was regarded as the number 2 LW in the world for the last 3 or 4 years and Kawajiri who has been in the top 10 (around 4-6 depending on the rankers) for the last 2 or 3 years…..Melendez manhandled and schooled Aoki. He was never in the fight…
Eddie Alvarez beat Joachim(when he was a top10 man) and Kawajiri(both top 10 competitors). Alvarez is actually the only guy to get a KO win against Karajiri.
Melvin beats unranked fighters…His last top 25 win was, ummmmm, NEVER! Never beating top 25 talent vs beating top 10 talent are most certainly 2 different boats. UFC TUF rejects is one knd of boat and top 10 talent is another boat. That is like comparing Bobby Lashleys wins to Cain Velasquez’s wins.
I was a fool for ever doubting Shogun. I should be ashamed for never giving him a chance to get healthy. Shogun made Machida look B-level-Just like my bet made me look b-level!
My point was Melvin has never beaten Top level talent.
Very few fighters fight top level talent every fight. That is not what I was saying in my original post. When Melvin has fought real talent he chokes litterally every time!
I was a fool for ever doubting Shogun. I should be ashamed for never giving him a chance to get healthy. Shogun made Machida look B-level-Just like my bet made me look b-level!
trolling? gil has beaten 1 guy anyone considers to actually be good in aoki who honestly is just a can crusher in american mma he would get slaughtered, but you guys all buy into this hype of “crazy submission expert” i think dude is right, gil and eddie would take melvin down but not stay there.. i find these 2 guys to be highly overrated and nowhere near top10 and if they fought in the ufc probably couldnt even beat efrain escudero. hell junie browning could give these 2 a good run
who did gil beat to get an interim title again? can you even name the guy off the top of your head? no you probably can’t, he beat that thomson guy to get it unified? the same guy who got demolished in the ufc? i doubt these clowns could even contend with ben henderson and jamie varner
by randy murders on May 16, 2010 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions
i dont think melvin would take em and i dont this he is gona hold a belt in the ufc
his talented but not quite there yet dont ever know if he will, gotta keep of the coke thats for sure
This would make for a great fight IMO 2 top 10 LW's
Open up the Shit Gates and where the Hell was Marv?
Yep
I’d take Alvarez over him any day though.
by NNR (formerly NameNotRequired) on May 16, 2010 1:42 AM EDT up reply actions
I'd say they are both in the top 5 or 6
They’re definitely the best 2 LWs outside of the UFC and I’d love to see them unify their titles to prove who is the best. Hopefully they’ll both get to fight BJ, Frankie, Kenny and Gray in the near future.
"Kimbo Slice sucks like I've been saying for the last few months, this fucking guy can't fight and he got knocked out in 13 seconds" (Dana White)
"The one thing we know about Kimbo Slice, this guy is a fighter, this guy will come to fight" (Dana White)
by David W-S on May 16, 2010 1:57 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
What’s up with melendez thinking he’s ranked nbr 1. Does he try to act like ufc lightweights don’t exist? He’d be a good gate keeper in the ufc IMO.
by DaiTheFlu on May 16, 2010 1:56 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
BJ lost and he beat Aoki
And Gil would be a lot more than a gatekeeper, he’s improved a lot since his 2 losses and is championship material. Wins over Aoki and Thomson prove that as would a win over Eddie.
"Kimbo Slice sucks like I've been saying for the last few months, this fucking guy can't fight and he got knocked out in 13 seconds" (Dana White)
"The one thing we know about Kimbo Slice, this guy is a fighter, this guy will come to fight" (Dana White)
by David W-S on May 16, 2010 1:59 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
yeh i think he is top 5 for sure i just said both are top 10 to cover my ass lol
IMO of course i think BJ is #1. If he losses to frankie again then i would put Frankie at #1. But i dont think that will go down like that. I would love to see Eddie and Gil in the UFC. Man would that div be sick then.
Open up the Shit Gates and where the Hell was Marv?
Either one of these two
Would smash anyone and everyone in the UFC that includes BJ.
If you dont like drugs then dont do them.....give them to me!
Both may be top 10
But I would take edgar, Penn, griffin, Maynard,kflo,cerrone and Henderson over both of em.
by Blood,bath and beyond on May 16, 2010 7:04 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
What???
This has gotta be one of the dumbest statements that I’ve ever heard in my life. Do you even watch these guys fight or do you just pay attention to who’s under the Zuffa banner? What do Cowboy, Ben Hendo, Maynard and Griffin do well that Alvarez and Melendez don’t? I mean Maynard’s biggest win was a split decision over a guy who just lost in the semifinals of Bellator. You’re just picking names, but you have no actual analysis to go with it.
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