"El Nino" Ready to Get Back At It

"Gilbert Melendez isn't a fighter who is willing to settle for anything less than his best, and he's determined to get his career back on track.
"After a three-year run under the Strikeforce banner in which he won then defended the lightweight title on six consecutive occasions, El Nino finally crossed over into UFC waters in 2013.
"With Melendez long being touted as one of the best 155-pound fighters in the world, his first foray into the Octagon was a clash of champions as he faced UFC lightweight title holder Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox 7 in San Jose. The fight was the big stage the 32-year-old Californian had been waiting for and was his opportunity to solidify himself as the best lightweight in the world.
"Yet, despite a hard-fought five-round war with Smooth, Melendez came out on the short end of a split decision on the judges' scorecards. It was Melendez's first setback since 2008, and he came out determined to get back into the win column in his next outing against Diego Sanchez at UFC 166.
"The Skrap Pack leader put on a memorable performance en route to picking up the unanimous decision victory as the perennial contender, and The Nightmare stood toe-to-toe trading shots for the entire 15 minutes of the fight."
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