Dana White: Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez is headed to the UFC, ASAP
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez's days in the organization appear over.
The standout lightweight will join the UFC's roster "ASAP," according to UFC president Dana White.
A debut date and opponent haven't been determined, but White said it'll happen sooner rather than later. And if the timing is right, it could lead to an immediate UFC title shot.
"Yeah, we do want to bring Gilbert Melendez over, and we're looking at it right now," White said following Saturday's UFC on Versus 6 event at Washington, D.C.'s Verizon Center. "We're looking to bring Gilbert Melendez over ASAP."
White, who also said Strikeforce heavyweight Fabricio Werdum (14-5-1 MMA, 3-1 SF) is likely to return to the organization, spoke definitively about the Melendez (19-2 MMA, 9-1 SF) move for the first time ever. After the UFC purchased Strikeforce earlier this year, he hinted at the possibility but stopped short of saying there was a concrete plan.
However, Melendez, who recently cracked the top 10 in the media-voted Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound rankings, now is making the move.
Melendez, an early WEC fighter who's fought with Strikeforce and PRIDE since early 2006, is carrying a five-fight win streak with wins over notables such as Josh Thomson, Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri. Currently, he's slated to fight Jorge Masvidal in a Dec. 17 title fight, though it's not clear how a possible move to the UFC could affect those plans.
White, though, isn't counting out the possibility that Melendez could get an immediate title shot in the UFC. While he's earned top-contender status on merit, White said it'll depend more on the timing of the title picture, which gets some clarity next weekend when UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar takes on Gray Maynard.
"[The title shot] is a possibility," he said. "The thing is with that division, it's so stacked, there are a lot of possibilities.
"We'll see what happens with the timing."
