Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez is in a bit of a conundrum right now. His teammate Nick Diaz moved over to the UFC to fight for their welterweight title and left his Strikeforce title behind, and a lot of people are calling for Melendez to do the same thing. Obviously it’s not that simple, but Gil’s just taking it day by day until he gets that sort of opportunity. He did a video interview with Damon Martin of MMAWeekly, and talked about the newest potential challenger for his Strikeforce title, Jorge Masvidal:
“If anyone in the Strikeforce does (deserve a title shot) in my division, he (Masvidal) does. I’ve always thought he was good, I picked him to beat K.J. (Noons). You know, everyone thought KJ was gonna win, but I knew he was gonna beat KJ. I think he’s a tough guy and yeah man, I think he’s a worthy opponent and I’d love to fight him.”
After spending a little while talking about a potential move to the UFC, he made it clear that he’s perfectly willing to defend his Strikeforce title until Zuffa has no choice to move him over. He was asked when that next defense could be, he thought it could potentially be pretty soon:
“Judging by his (Masvidal’s) fight in June…maybe something in September? You know, late September. I know there’s a mid-September card, I’ll jump on that if they want, just give me a heads up and I’ll be game.”
The topic switches back to the UFC, specifically the third matchup between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard that should happen near the end of the year. Who does Melendez pick to win?
“I’m gonna have to give to Frankie. If you keep that footwork up, you win the match, not necessarily the fight, if you know what I mean. If Gray lands that big punch again and buckles him and comes in a little bit more he has a great chance, but if Frankie keeps that footwork going and stays light on his feet and moves around, I think he can outpoint him.”
He also talks about how he’d love to fight Edgar in the Strikeforce hexagon because it’s smaller, how fan interest could expedite his departure to the UFC, and a bunch of other stuff. You can catch the whole interview after the jump.