Nate Diaz says Gilbert Melendez is the best 155-pound fighter on the planet

Who is the world's best 155-pound fighter?

According to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight number one contender Nate Diaz, who catapulted himself into the upper echelon of his weight class by submitting Jim Miller at UFC on FOX 3 last Saturday night (May 5, 2012) in New Jersey, it's none other than friend and training partner Gilbert Melendez.

One of Stockton's finest tells Sherdog.com why the Strikeforce Lightweight Champion is the king of kings:

"I've been training with Gilbert and Jake (Shields) for years. These guys are older than me, they've shown me a lot. I've followed their careers, these are guys I look up to. Me and Gil been battling it out in here for years. There's no one better than him. These guys that are champion now, Ben Henderson is the champion, he's done great too but he just got the title, he just won it. Gil's been holding it down, fighting the top contenders, he's been ready to fight for the UFC title too, forever. There's no doubt in my mind he's the best 155'er on the planet and I think he deserves to be right there in the UFC holding the UFC belt, but they got him locked down on that Strikeforce contract. People might not know but that's the best guy in the world and he's got the belt to prove it. He's the man."

Hear more from Diaz on Melendez and the current UFC lightweight title picture after the jump.

For more on Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller at UFC on FOX 3 click here.