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

Its hard for me to feel that bad here. Gil was the one who chose to re-up with SF and make a new deal. Its not like this is a division that has been affected by the buyout with the UFC bringing guys over, he knew where the best guys in the world were fighting, and its not where he was/is

Frankie Should go to SF to fight Gil if expects people to think he is the best.

I get that he signed a contract, but he had every reason to do so assuming he'd be in the UFC by now like everyone else.

This is one of the reasons I hate the idea of what's happening with SF... Gil belongs in the UFC

He'll be there soon enough, under six months, until SF can get a couple of new fighters going. It was just a couple years ago everyone said Strikeforce needed to replace Frank and Le as their only stars.

If BJ was down to do it then I'd be all for it even though I like Gil and would hate to see BJ mess his face up lol. But I doubt BJ wants to fight Gil in SF.

Gil would beat BJ up.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Gil would beat BJ up.

With what GnP? I disagree. Gil is not the wrestler Frankie and some of the other UFC LWs. I think it is a bad style match for Gil.

He'd box him up. It be a war but Gil would prevail.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

He'd box him up. It be a war but Gil would prevail.

I disagree, Gil's hands are no where near the level of his teammate Nick Diaz. In the 1st round of that fight BJ was doing well in the standup. Gil doesn't have a Diaz pace to wear him down. I think BJ lays hands on Gil.

Melendez's hands are way better than Diaz's. He has better foot work, body movement, hand speed, power, and offensive wrestling. Melendez is one of the very best strikers at LW. He is better than any LW UFC striker. Bendo is the only UFC fighter I think could best him over five rounds.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Melendez's hands are way better than Diaz's. He has better foot work, body movement, hand speed, power, and offensive wrestling. Melendez is one of the very best strikers at LW. He is better than any LW UFC striker. Bendo is the only UFC fighter I think could best him over five rounds.

LOL What? Seriously? In a standup only fight Nick would beat Gil into dust. BJ's standup is better then Gils and Nicks is better then BJs, that would be the correct order. I don't know if this is Diaz hate, Gil love or a troll job. Fail either way.

Gil doesn't take nearly the punishment in his fights. Diaz only survives because his chin has held up and he tires guys out. Gilbert is much more sound defensively and doesn't need to bust guys up with as many shots to hurt them. Gilbert I believe is the more sound striker. Not to take anything away from Diaz's style, but BJ Penn was fucking his world up for a round and a half. Diaz then busted him up late in the second and the third was close but Diaz edged it. Melendez is a top ten p4p fighter for a reason.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Gil doesn't take nearly the punishment in his fights. Diaz only survives because his chin has held up and he tires guys out. Gilbert is much more sound defensively and doesn't need to bust guys up with as many shots to hurt them. Gilbert I believe is the more sound striker. Not to take anything away from Diaz's style, but BJ Penn was fucking his world up for a round and a half. Diaz then busted him up late in the second and the third was close but Diaz edged it. Melendez is a top ten p4p fighter for a reason.

I'll give you defensive argument. I almost through that in on my last post. Over 5 rounds Melendez can't produce the volume of punches that Diaz does, he also doesn't work the body near was well as Diaz. Overall I think Nick is significantly better standing then Gil.
Your analyisis of the BJ-Diaz fight is confusing. It was a dominating win and the 3rd round was not "edged" it was clearly controlled by Nick. Dominating performance and no one has made BJ Penn look like that before. You want to talk about Gil's power advantage, BJ has been cut just 1 time before and Nick swole his eye shut.

Wow, this is getting out of hand with the Gilbert #1 stuff. He looked great against Aoki and Kawajiri, and he basically did whatever he wanted to Masvidal but these are not BJ Penn quality fighters. Gil would look like Diego Sanchez after Penn got done with him. He doesn't have better hands, hand speed, or power than Diaz either. It's time to come off El Nino's nuts because he's not a better fighter than Frankie, or Maynard, or Bendo either. I could see him giving Maynard a run for his money out of those three but I don't see him beating either of them consistently. It's time to put all this "I'm in the know because I pick a non UFC fighter as best in the weight class" silliness to bed.

It isn't silliness dude. It isn't about picking a non UFC fighter as best in the weight class either. If BJ was still prime BJ, or Edgar or Maynard had come away from their wars without appearing flawed...I like Melendez over those two. Gilbert has been fighting top flight dudes since Pride. His boxing is better all the time. I would have picked him over Eddie Alvarez if he was still in the discussion also.

The one thing though Penn has going for him is his cardio at 155 has never been a major issue, where it has failed him in every significant fight at 170 that lasts over a round.

They looked "flawed" because they were the #1 fighting the #2 in the division and neither was an especially efficient finisher. But Gil isn't Maynard and he doesn't have the size or wrestling chops to push Edgar around, not even Maynard had those in the second and third fights with Frankie, and Maynard is probably the best pure wrestler at 155. They wouldn't have been wars if both hadn't looked flawed. Just like Shogun/Hendo wouldn't have been a war if both didn't have a hole somewhere to exploit.

Nothing about Gilberts performance on saturday led Me to believe he'd beat Frankie Edgar if they fought. He would put on a good fight with Frankie for sure, but nothing he did stood out to Me as much as to say "that would have put Frankie to sleep" or "this guy would kill Edgar".

I think his power would make the difference. I think he could put punches on him for five rounds. Maynard blows his load every fight and can't finish. Melendez I think would have a good chance to finish, or would score enough damage to win a decision. Edgar's defense isn't good enough. Melendez is a fighter who wouldn't get danced around. That shit wouldn't work on him.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

I think his power would make the difference. I think he could put punches on him for five rounds. Maynard blows his load every fight and can't finish. Melendez I think would have a good chance to finish, or would score enough damage to win a decision. Edgar's defense isn't good enough. Melendez is a fighter who wouldn't get danced around. That shit wouldn't work on him.

Maynard didn't blow his wad in the third fight with Edgar, he purposely held back to conserve energy. He did everything right and still lost. I don't see Gil being able to be so effective against someone moving around as much as Edgar. He only landed 33% on a flat footed Masvidal Saturday night. Masvidal looked like he was moving in water from the waist down all night. There's no way he lands more than 25% of his punches in a five round fight on Frankie Edgar.

Masvidal was technically sound and is hard to hit with the head movement and hand position he uses. Melendez would land on Edgar enough over five rounds to win. I don't think Edgar's style would let him land enough on Melendez to win a decision backing up either. I don't know if Melendez could even be baited into chasing him. Melendez corners guys really well and is faster than Maynard and more diverse in his boxing, and he could throw effective offense for five rounds. Maynard's cardio has not been sufficient in championship fights, but Melendez will be able to attack for five rounds.

I think he did great against Masvidal who is a dangerous opponent, but I also got the feeling he was less intense because he wasn't thrilled to be facing that guy either.

I'd pick Bendo over him though.

I like both fighters but I think Frankie Edgar beats Gilbert Melendez.

Agree with Wolf here