MMA Top 10 Lightweights: Gilbert Melendez Makes His Case

by Michael David SmithGilbert Melendez thinks he's the best lightweight in mixed martial arts. Is he right? I don't think so, not yet. But I sure would love to find out.

The best thing about the UFC buying Strikeforce is that it means we'll eventually see the champions of the respective promotions fighting each other. For now the mantra is "business as usual," but we all know it's just a matter of time before we see the best of Strikeforce inside the Octagon. And there might not be a better fight out there than Melendez taking on the top of the UFC lightweight division.

It will probably be 2012 before we get to see that: UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar has to fight Gray Maynard in May, and the winner of that fight is expected to fight the winner of the June Anthony Pettis-Clay Guida bout after that. But it sure would be fun to see Melendez retiring the Strikeforce belt to his trophy case and fighting for the UFC gold.

Find out where I think Melendez stacks up in the lightweight division below.

 

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Bellator 39: Alvarez can’t finish Curran, Patricky ‘Pitbull’ lands spectacular knee

Eddie Alvarez found a willing dance partner in Pat Curran. He just wouldn't leave the dance floor.

Curran decided to stand and bang with one of the world's top 10 lightweights, but wouldn't wilt under a hailstorm of body shots. Alvarez landed more punches and the harder shots throughout to roll to a unanimous decision win, 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46, in the main event of Bellator 39.

Curran, whose cousin Jeff is a former WEC champion, sent a message by going the distance with Alvarez. The Philadelphian moved to 22-2 with the win. It was just the third time he'd been taken past the second round. Alvarez came in riding a six-fight win streak and was fresh off a complete destruction of former UFC lightweight Roger Huerta.

"That guy's got a hard, hard head. He can take a shot," Alvarez told Bellator color voice Jimmy Smith. "I was starting to find my rhythm. He just stuck in there. I wish I had the heart he has at his age. Pat's gonna be a champion, no doubt."

Curran's overall game was impressive. Alvarez, is a very solid MMA wrestler, but anytime he got Curran down, the 23-year-old was able to quickly scramble to his feet. On the feet, Alvarez's movement made it tough for Curran (13-4) to land punches.

Curran is tough as nails. He absorbed dozens of nasty body shots and never went down.

Hawn takes narrow split decision from Good

Rick Hawn's effort won't make any "Best of" highlight tapes, but he fought to a gameplan that scored with the judges. He got a takedown early in the second and one more with 15 seconds left in the fight. That may have been the difference in gaining a split decision win, 29-28, 28-29 and 30-27, over Lyman Good to advance to the Bellator Season 4 welterweight tournament final.

Hawn will face the winner of Jay Hieron and Brent Weedman. They fight next week at Bellator 40.

"He hits hard. I started off a little slow and I should've pushed harder at the end," Hawn said. "[I have] a lot of confidence. [Good's] won the tournament before. Whoever it is, I'm ready for them."

Good cost himself the fight with his inability to get off the mat in the second round. He was taken down at 4:42 left in the round and didn't try a single submission or commit to escaping. Hawn landed nothing of significance, but maintained top control and most times that's enough to win over judges.

In the first and third round on the feet, Good landed some effective jabs, but was hesitant to really commit with big shots or flurries.

Hawn, a 2004 Olympian in Judo, is dangerous in the clinch and Good was clearly avoiding tight spaces.

'Pitbull' with another eye-opening win

Toby Imada has been a handful for everyone in Bellator, but Patricky "Pitbull" Freire showed he's at a different level. Imada, a dynamic submission specialist, chose to stand with Freire. Pitbull  landed a super-athletic flying knee, Imada froze in place and then ate a left hook before falling to his back. Pitbull gots the TKO win at 2:53 of the first round in the Bellator Season 4 lightweight semifinal.

Pitbull, 25, looks like a super prospect and may be the only guy under contract with Bellator, who can give the champ Alvarez, a dangerous challenge. Freire (10-1) will face the winner of Lloyd Woodard and Michael Chandler. That semi goes down next week at Bellator 40.

Freire and his younger brother, Patricio have combined to go 25-2 to start their MMA careers.

Saunders makes Lee a bloody mess

Matt Sung Lee was looking for one last shot at some big fights, but he ran into the wrong guy on the feet. Lee had to face last second fill-in Ben Saunders and after 11-plus minutes of fighting he was left looking like a horror flick victim. Saunders' elbows opened cuts over both of Lee's eyes, and blood was flowing from the South Korean's nose forcing a doctor's stoppage at 1:24 of third round.

Saunders, an "Ultimate Fighter" alum, was cut after losing lost two straight with the UFC. He was 3-3 with the UFC, mainly because of poor takedown defense.

At 6-foot-3, he's gigantic for weight class and knows how to use that height and length advantage. Lee, a smallish, doughy looking welterweight tried to stand with Saunders and was in trouble from the opening seconds.

Saunders (10-3-2, 3-3 UFC) closed spaced early and looked to work along the cage. The big guy crushed Lee's nose in the first and ripped open a good-sized cut next to his right eye in the second. So much blood was flowing that it appeared Saunders, who had it all over the side of his head and down his chest, must've been cut too. But it wasn't the case.

Lee's corner begged the physician in attendance to let the fight go into the third round. The doctor relented, but when Saunders landed a huge right elbow out of the clinch with four minutes left in the fight, it was less than 20 seconds later that the doc waved off the fight. The cut over left eye spurted blood quickly and that side of Lee's face was almost covered in crimson 10 seconds later.

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Monday morning knockout: Freire’s knee at Bellator

As Cofield wrote about, Patricky Freire knocked Toby Imada out, as well as out of the tournament, with a devastating knee at Bellator on Saturday night. Take a look for yourself.

Imada was dazed the second that knee hit him, but he held on for a few seconds before dropping to the floor. After a mere 2:53 worth of work, Freire moves onto face the winner of Michael Chandler/Lloyd Woodard in Bellator's lightweight tournament.

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Going to work, MMA fighter gunned down at U.S.-Mexico border

It can happen anytime to anyone. Safety issues in Mexico reached the border between Tijuana and San Ysidro, Calif., as MMA fighter Sergio Salcido Luna and another man were gunned down in their car while waiting in line to cross into the U.S. early Monday morning.

Salcido, 25, and Kevin Joel Romero, 28, were American citizens who worked at West Coast Beverage Maintenance, a San Diego-based company that services draft beer equipment. They were shot dead in a company truck at 2:40 a.m. PT by an assailant using a 9 MM weapon. The men, both U.S. citizens who lived in Playas de Tijuana, were shot in the head, chest and arms.

Salcido was an MMA welterweight who was 4-5 in his young career. His recent losses included former "The Ultimate Fighter 12" contestant Sako Chivitchian.

The San Diego Union-Tribune called the border shooting "rare."

Shootings in the border crossing lanes are extremely rare. In January 2002, a Mexican soldier sprayed bullets into cars waiting in line on the Mexican side of the Otay Mesa border crossing, wounding three people. In April 1995, a stray bullet from a police shootout hit an innocent Mexican motorist in the head as he was waiting in line to cross into the United States, killing him instantly.

Initial reports said the murders may have been drug related.  Attorney General Rommel Moreno Manjarrez told reporters one of the victims had a "small packet of drugs among his belongings."

"They were good guys," [Matt] Pelot [the victims' employer] said. "I don't think they were dealing drugs, selling drugs or anything to do with drugs. They were both very hardworking individuals. They had a zest for life."

After testing the substance in the bag and saying it was not marijuana, the authorities have since ruled out that murder was a result of drug-related violence.

"There is another line of investigation that is very strong," said Jorge Alberto Aguirre Carbajal, coordinator for the homicide unit of the Baja California Attorney General's Office in Tijuana.

Aguirre said that he could not discuss specifics because of the ongoing investigation. He also said authorities have been interviewing family members and friends of the two victims.

The timing of this tragedy is also significant with an MMA event, Strikeforce, in nearby San Diego on Saturday. Any fans from out of town who were thinking of a quick trip to Tijuana may be dissuaded.

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