Mired in the worst slump of his career, Gilbert Melendez still has the mindset and spirit of a fighter who has a lot of work left to do.
It’s the rest of him that’s being less than cooperative.
At 35, the former Strikeforce lightweight champion hasn’t seen his hand raised inside the cage since winning a unanimous decision over Diego Sanchez almost four years ago at UFC 166. He’s lost his last three fights, and while he’s optimistic about a move down to 145 pounds, he confessed on a recent episode of The MMA Hour that part of the reason he’s been on the shelf for the last year is due to having to recover from knee surgery and that his decision to continue fighting could eventually be taken out of his hands.