Gilbert Melendez re-signs with UFC, will fight Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis after coaching Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 20

http://www.mmamania.com/2014/2/24/5441466/gilbert-melendez-re-signs-ufc-fight-lightweight-champion-anthony-pettis-tuf-20-coach

Sorry, Bellator, but UFC offered Gilbert Melendez an offer he couldn't refuse (again) -- one that included a Lightweight title shot against Anthony Pettis -- as "El Nino" agrees to terms with the Zuffa-owned mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion.


Good news, Gilbert Melendez fans.

"El Nino" has come to terms with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on a new fight contract that will see the former Strikeforce champion continue compete inside the world-famous Octagon for the foreseeable future.

The news comes on the heels of the announcement that Melendez had come to terms with Bellator after initial talks with UFC went south in a hurry. Obviously, the second round of negotiations -- that included an exclusive match clause ... and not Dana White -- went much, much better.

While exact details weren't revealed, a coaching spot on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 20 and a subsequent title fight against lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, was too good to pass up.

From the official press release:

   The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced tonight that No. 2 ranked lightweight contender Gilbert Melendez has agreed to a new contract with the organization. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Melendez will now coach against UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis on season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter. The two will then meet for the UFC lightweight title later this year. The show, which will begin filming in May and premiere on FOX Sports 1 on Sept. 10, features the launch of the UFC women's 115-pound weight class. The winner of this season of The Ultimate Fighter® will be crowned the UFC strawweight division's inaugural champion.

Melendez was last seen going toe-to-toe against Diego Sanchez for 15 minutes at UFC 166 last October in one of the best fights of 2013 (highlights). In the end, Gilbert received the unanimous decision and and a "Fight of the Night" bonus check to boot.

Prior to that, "El Nino" came up short against then-lightweight champion Ben Henderson at UFC on Fox 7.

As for Pettis, the coaching stint on TUF will likely give him extra time to rehab his injured knee, an injury which forced him out of his first-ever title defense (details) against Josh Thomson at UFC on Fox 9.

And given the past beef Pettis has had with Gilbert's teammate Nate Diaz (read it) and members of his entourage, it will be interesting to see how the two camps interact with one another during the filming of the show.

It can't get any worse than this, Or can it?

Good news and bad news.

Good that he took control and forced the Zuffa gangsters to not fuck him over as is their standard for almost everyone in MMA.

Bad that these guys are wasted on TUF to appeal to the low reality tv fan demo. Waste of time and talent.

Maybe Pettis needs the time to heal up so they are using the show to promote them?

Should be a great fight.

Wonder when we get Pettis vs Aldo.

GDPofDRC wrote:

Good news and bad news.

Good that he took control and forced the Zuffa gangsters to not fuck him over as is their standard for almost everyone in MMA.

Bad that these guys are wasted on TUF to appeal to the low reality tv fan demo.  Waste of time and talent.

I think it's a good idea. Gil will be a great coach and this is the first season in a few years I'm excited to watch. Anytime you can get a Diaz brother or Cesar Gracie on tv is worth a watch. Then Pettis can heal up and people can get to know a relatively unknown champion when it come s to his personality.

Now details have emerged on the contract, via MMAFighting:

1. At least 75 percent of Melendez's fights are guaranteed to be on pay-per-view.

2. Pay-per-view points kick in at a lower threshold than they do for any other contract in league history. PPV points are a standard means of compensation for the most elite fighters in the sport. The UFC pays the fighter a percentage of the PPV buys, that steps up if the event is extra popular. Details of contractual arrangements around PPV points are not public, but a few times the contracts have been revealed during court proceedings.

For example, Eddie Alvarez's contract offered $1 for each PPV between 200,000 and 400,000 buys, $2 per buy between 400,000 and 600,000, and $2.50 per buy over 600,000. Alvarez would have received no extra money for PPV buys under 200,000.

When Alistair Overeem signed with the UFC, his contract reportedly called for a $2 PPV bonus per viewer, "for all revenues received by UFC-Zuffa for telecast of the Lesnar fight in the United States, Canada or over the internet in excess of $500,000."

Exactly what Melendez's numbers are is not know publicly.

3. Melendez will also earn PPV points whether he is in the main event, co-main event, or the main card.

Going forward, Gil Melendez will be one of the highest paid fighters in mixed martial arts.

I'm pumped for this fight and the fact that the UFC is putting these guys on TUF is a good idea to me also. I want Pettis to be 100% so this fight has no excuses either way.