Zuffa Should Consider Sending BJ Penn to Strikeforce to Face Gilbert Melendez

http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/12/18/zuffa-should-consider-sending-bj-penn-to-strikeforce-to-face-gil/?a_dgi=aolshare_facebook

If Dana White won't bring Gilbert Melendez to the UFC, he should bring the UFC to Melendez. Or at least, someone for him to fight. After beating Jorge Masvidal at last night's Strikeforce event in San Diego, what more is there for him to do? Who else is there for him to beat? What matchup are fans clamoring to see? The answers are nothing, no one and none.

Melendez is a top five fighter with nothing left to prove in the division as it stands right now. He's beaten Masvidal, Shinya Aoki and Josh Thomson, three of the best lightweights outside of the UFC, but there's no signed fighter in the division who has truly earned the right to face one of the best. Sure there are fighters like KJ Noons and Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante with some name value, but both of those guys have won exactly one fight in a row.

Solution: Bring someone over from the UFC to fight him. It doesn't have to be the champion. Bring one of the many quality guys over to challenge him. I have just the guy. He's a big name, he can bring attention to the promotion, and he offers the instant credibility that only a former UFC champion can provide. Bring over BJ Penn to fight Melendez.

Right now, Penn is on a break from fighting. He's home in Hilo, Hawaii spending time with his family after his hard-fought loss to Nick Diaz in October. But Penn does plan to fight again, and he even said that he'd be willing to rematch Diaz.

That's not going to happen, as Diaz has moved on to preparing for a big interim UFC welterweight title fight with Carlos Condit. So we need to find something that excites Penn, something that motivates him. Regardless of the skeptics who still refuse to believe that Melendez is for real, Penn knows the truth, that Melendez is for real and has a set of skills that would provide a challenge. Because of that, a bout with Melendez might interest him. As an added bonus, Melendez comes from the same Team Cesar Gracie as Diaz, making the marketing of the fight simple. BJ Penn comes looking for revenge against Diaz's teammate.

Penn loves fighting for belts, and as long as Frankie Edgar is the lightweight champ, Penn is stuck. He isn't going to get another shot against Edgar after losing to him twice. The same holds true for his chances of getting a welterweight title fight. He's already lost to Georges St-Pierre twice and Diaz once, so his chances of earning his way back for another title bout anytime soon are slim. So where does that leave him? He's in a legend-at-large role, looking for interesting matchups wherever they might appear. And is there really anything in the UFC that is so much more interesting than Penn-Melendez?

Let's face it, Penn would be one of the biggest stars ever to fight in the Strikeforce hexagon, with only Dan Henderson and Fedor Emelianenko able to rival his popularity. He's a former two-division champ in the UFC, every MMA fan knows him, and his presence would certainly bring attention to the promotion. Just as importantly, it would illustrate that Zuffa is serious about Strikeforce.

Just last week, White promised that Strikeforce wouldn't be a B-league, or a feeder system for the UFC. They would go after top talent, he said. They would find a way to make Strikeforce's best fighters happy, he said. That would mean leaving Melendez where he is, and bringing talent to him. This match would prove that White meant what he said.

The biggest hurdle in this plan would be making it worth Penn's while. Because Strikeforce is on Showtime and not pay-per-view, the pay scale is different, and White would have to dig into his his pocket to make him whole.

That investment would be worth it for Zuffa, to show that they are truly committed to Strikeforce as its own promotion. It's one thing for White to say it on a conference call, it's another entirely for him to send over a UFC legend. That's a statement. That's a promise kept.

BJ Penn would be just the fighter to satisfy White's promise, fan interest and Melendez's ambitions. Melendez doesn't just need a legitimate challenge, he deserves one.

I think thats a pretty good idea. I would love to see BJ fight Gil.

fuck that, send gil to the ufc! this is just dumb as fuck!

While I would love to see gil get challengers, sending UFC guys over is a no win for SF.

a loss and the champ losses credibility, ends any talk of a superfight.

A win and it only increases the fans desire to see Gil in the UFC. Yeah SF would get one big fight out of it, but it doesn't stop the inevitable.

captain organic wrote:

While I would love to see gil get challengers, sending UFC guys over is a no win for SF.

a loss and the champ losses credibility, ends any talk of a superfight.

A win and it only increases the fans desire to see Gil in the UFC. Yeah SF would get one big fight out of it, but it doesn't stop the inevitable.

Its better than seeing Gil fight Fodor or Noons next. What does that do for Gil and SF?

Unless the champ wins his next title defense, and is BJ Penn. If BJ ever wants another UFC belt crack being SF champ is one of the best ways to jump back in line.

Not to mention to do so Penn would have to beat Melendez who is without a doubt one of the very best fighters in the division. I think Melendez would beat the breaks off Penn in the last two rounds and win a five round decision.

Yeah I think Melendez is too fast and has way too much stamina for BJ Penn.

Melendez is my number 1 LW. He is too complete.

bj at lw, prepared is way better than gil any day. He aint no jorge. Bj has some of the best boxing in the lw division period. I could see bj take this. Gil biggest wins are over jap hype. Dude is good and well rounded but still, not on the train. Know what, ima count bj out. He looked old and slow against diaz. Gil beats him. Still does nothing for him. Bj is coming off 4 losses imo from his last 5 fights with his only win comin off a faded hughes. Send gray,pettis or miller over. One of those will be a great set up towards a inification bout ala wwe raw/smackdown lol

harsh? lol

killerofchicken wrote:

harsh? lol

Keep it up, jorge, and your next!

Ludo wrote:

killerofchicken wrote:

harsh? lol

Keep it up, jorge, and your next!

si senor

I do like the idea of sending Pettis over. Or Cerrone.

I'd be cool with the winner of either of these mathcups then getting a shot at the UFC belt.

And Penn does work as well. Gil vs Penn would be dope. And again, im fine with the winner of this getting a UFC title shot(though I know people will poo poo edgar penn III, and even I would like to see Penn win more then 1 at lw b4 getting another shot).

and I was wrong above, SF title holder jumps soon enough, might as well get a big fight out of it.

But I wonder if there any restrictions in the fox contract as to who is allowed to fight outside the UFC.

captain organic wrote:

I do like the idea of sending Pettis over. Or Cerrone.

I'd be cool with the winner of either of these mathcups then getting a shot at the UFC belt.

And Penn does work as well. Gil vs Penn would be dope. And again, im fine with the winner of this getting a UFC title shot(though I know people will poo poo edgar penn III, and even I would like to see Penn win more then 1 at lw b4 getting another shot).

and I was wrong above, SF title holder jumps soon enough, might as well get a big fight out of it.

But I wonder if there any restrictions in the fox contract as to who is allowed to fight outside the UFC.

I don't think Dana would agree to the deal if there was.

You know if they send anybody over, it's going to be Kenny Florian

They so should do that.

Sign me up

KingsOwn19 wrote:

You know if they send anybody over, it's going to be Kenny Florian

Kenny is still a high caliber LW fighter

Should UFC acquire Gilbert Melendez: VOTE

http://bjpenn.com/news/2011/12/19/mma-poll-should-the-ufc-acquire-gilbert-melendez-10045.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bjpenndotcom+%28BJPENN.COM+NEWS+BLOGS%29

Pretty bad that we all know Gil is the true #1 contender for the LW title and nothing is done about it. Money rules over anything and the deal with Showtime proves it.

I really do think Gil is the best LW around right now too. I'm gonna rank him 1. I have Edgar higher on the p4p list though.