Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez (18-2 MMA, 8-1 SF) successfully defended his title against DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki (23-5 MMA, 0-1 SF) on Saturday April 17.
Melendez won a one-sided decision as the fight went the full five rounds. He kept the dangerous submission specialist at bay as he caught him consistently with shots to the head and body. During the third round Aoki’s nose began to bleed as he was overwhelmed with power punches. “El Nino” was cautious not to go to the ground with the Japanese star. Melendez simply outboxed his opponent to solidify the victory.
“It’s like a chess match, I couldn’t make any mistakes, I had to wait to pull the trigger. So I wish I could have pulled the trigger a little more but this guy is real dangerous,” said Melendez after the fight.
The sport of Mixed Martial Arts is rapidly growing in popularity and with such Mexican-American stars like Melendez, Tito Ortiz, Cain Velasquez and Miguel Angel Torres emerging the sport is quickly appealing the casual Latino fight fan.
“The demographic for the sport is young. You see young Latino kids with their Tito Ortiz shirts. The next generation of Latinos love watching fights. Watch me fight, we Latinos have heart and crack skulls,” said the champ.
The spotlight was shining on Melendez the night of April 17. The championship fight was nationally televised live on CBS from Nashville, Tennessee. At only 28 years old the fight was the biggest of his career..
Aoki was ranked # 2 in the world at this weight class and is a star for the Japanese based DREAM promotion and this was his first fight in Strikeforce. He is seen as a submission specialist. During the fight Melendez was careful with his ground game.
“I figure he’s going to try to take me to the ground. I’ve been working on sprawling, single leg takedown defense and have been simulating him in training camp,” said Melendez.
Melendez first showed an interest in wrestling when as a child he admired his friend’s older brother’s wrestling banners. He looked up to him because he was in shape and seen as tough. Then in the 7th grade he watched his first mixed martial arts event which was UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors. Watching that event reassured him that wrestling was for him.
Melendez wrestled all four years in Santa Anna high school in California which is considered one of the top wrestling schools in the nation. From there he attended San Francisco State University on a wrestling scholarship. In his second year he met fellow MMA star Jake Shields, who also successfully defended his Strikeforce middleweight championship the same night against one the sports legends, Dan Henderson. Shields introduced Melendez to MMA, especially jiu-jitsu. He took him under his wing and brought him into the Cesar Gracie Academy where Melendez had to learn quick.
“They threw me in the with pit bulls right out the gate. I kept battling over and over.”
He started his career in World Extreme Cagefighting where he won his first four fights. It took his parents a while to warm up to that fact that their son is making a living cage fighting.
“It wasn’t easy. I have great parents and they just wanted to make sure I finished college. Once they saw my fifth fight they became my biggest fans.
Early in his career Melendez loved traveling all over the world to fight. With his talent there were always opportunities to fight. But as he continues to grow in this sport his motivational factors have shifted a little.
“At first it was all about the free trips to Hawaii and Japan and to be # 1. What drives me know is that I got a baby on the way, a girl to take care of, I got to put bread on the table. That’s my motivation now,” said Melendez.
At the end of the year in 2008 Melendez opened up his own gym call the “El Nino Training Center.” in the Bayview/Hunters Point neighborhood. He got inspired to open his own gym after watching 24/7 on HBO. He saw that Floyd Mayweather Jr. had his own gym and could train at any hour of the day. Melendez also wanted that freedom. At his gym he trains a young team of fighters. The team is a tightly nit group which call themselves the “Scrap Pack.”
“The term ’scrap’ came from Hawaii, we see ourselves as a pack, we came up with the name ourselves,” said Melendez.
With MMA breaking into the mainstream the exposure of the sport can clearly be seen. Melendez was recently featured in an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS along with other Strikeforce fighters. The episode had an MMA theme as Special Agent Sam Hanna (played by LL Cool J) goes undercover as a fighter to investigate the murder of a Marine.
“It was very cool experience, I had no lines, I was a glorified extra,” said Melendez laughing. “ It was great though, it will build up MMA.”
Although Melendez is the current lightweight champion coming of being seen on a national stage he feels he still has a lot to accomplish in this sport. “I want to be considered of the best ever. I want my name to be included with the legends of the sport like BJ Penn and Randy Couture,” said Melendez. “I want to be one of those immortal fighters.”
In defeating Aoki, Melendez had shaken up the rankings at lightweight.
“I think I’m top three. I think I earned it. I beat the # 2 guy in the world, possibly # 1. I think I deserve a little bit of love.”
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