Melendez, 38, was last seen in action at UFC 239 in July 2019. Once a Strikeforce lightweight champion, who challenged for gold in the UFC, Melendez lost what was his final UFC bout that night opposite Arnold Allen. In November of last year, he was released by the promotion — but on Monday, another wrinkle emerged. Melendez, per a press release by USADA, tested positive for GHRP-6, and two metabolites thereof, GHRP-6(2-5)-OH and GHRP-6(2-6)-OH, last fall. The substance is banned at all times under the UFC’s Anti-Doping Policy, which USADA oversees.

While Melendez (22-8) did not dispute the presence of the banned substance in a urine sample he provided on October 16, 2019, he did challenge USADA’s jurisdiction in the matter. That likely has a lot to do with him parting ways with the UFC, something that became public knowledge in November of last year. At the time, Melendez’s release was described as “mutual.” Mutual or not, an independent arbitrator rules that USADA did in fact have jurisdiction in the case. Despite Melendez exiting the promotion.

Melendez will now serve a two-year suspension backdated to November 1, 2019, the date his provisional suspension was handed down. He’ll be close to 40 by the time he’s eligible to return to competition.

Upon his arrival in the UFC in 2013, after Strikeforce had been gobbled up by the organization, Melendez was given an immediate shot against then-lightweight champ Benson Henderson. Losing a close split decision, he’d bounce back in a war against Diego Sanchez in his very next fight.

That classic was his last victory, as he’d suffer five straight losses culminating with the defeat to Allen last year.

GHRP-6, the substance Melendez tested positive for, is a growth hormone releasing peptide that can lead to decreased body fat, and increased muscle and stamina.

The post UFC, Strikeforce Vet Gilbert Melendez Hit with Two Year Ban by USADA appeared first on Cageside Press.

The ESPN featured prelim fighters at UFC 239 were on dramatically different streaks going into their fight. Gilbert Melendez was riding a four-fight losing streak going into UFC 239, his last loss being in September of 2017 against Jeremy Stephens. Melendez’s last win was his war against Diego Sanchez in 2013, to date, his only win in the UFC for the former Strikeforce and WEC lightweight champion.

Arnold Allen, on the other hand, is one of the UK’s brightest prospects. Allen was 14-1 prior to the clash, and had won all five of his UFC bouts going into UFC 239. Allen last defeated Jordan Rinaldi in March, prior to that bout, Allen was scheduled against Melendez the previous November. That fight fell through due to injury and ended up being rescheduled for this card.

The first round was a good active first five minutes for Arnold Allen. Allen threw a variety of strikes, landing some ruthless body shots, some good leg kicks, and powerful combinations upstairs. While Melendez did come out throwing some power of his own, especially in his right hand, he was swinging at air more often as the round went on. And as it did, it just got worse for Melendez, a sign of things to come for the rest of the fight.

Round two slightly better for Melendez, as he attempted to brawl with the Brit, and landed a couple of good left hooks in the second round. However, Allen would not fall into the brawl with his older foe, landing more ruthless shots to the body, and controlling the range as he was tired Melendez with his pace.

After 3 hard rounds, it's nothing but respect between these two athletes #UFC239 pic.twitter.com/Pnqfr1aPsp

— UFC (@ufc) July 7, 2019

Round three began with Allen taking down Melendez, as he continued to showcase his full skill set. Allen would do just what he had in the previous two rounds: land shots with a high rate on the older Melendez, throwing in more kicks for good measure. Allen started brawling in the final ten seconds, putting his guard down for the first time in a tremendous performance. In the end, all three rounds were scored for Allen.

Arnold Allen def. Gilbert Melendez by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)

Check out the rest of the results from UFC 239 here!

The post UFC 239 Results: Arnold Allen Overwhelms Gilbert Melendez appeared first on Cageside Press.

Gilbert Melendez is one of the most well-known and longest tenured vets in the UFC. Melendez has been fighting since 2002, and along the way has faced a who’s who of the MMA world. Defeating the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Josh Thomson, Diego Sanchez, and Shinya Aoki. However, despite those incredible names on his resume, he only has one win in the Octagon. That win coming over the aforementioned Sanchez in 2013.

Since then, Melendez has only had four fights in the promotion, all being losses. His last loss being his featherweight return against Jeremy Stephens. After the defeat, Melendez took some time off but was set to return last year in November against Arnold Allen. However, Melendez would pull out of the contest and the fight was canceled.

That fight against Arnold Allen is now set for UFC 239. The promotion announced the fight Wednesday afternoon, making it another fight to join the stacked July card. Arnold Allen is one of Britain’s fastest rising stars, having won in all five of his Octagon appearances to date. His last fight being a win over Jordan Rinaldi in March of this year.

UFC 239 is set for July 6 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The stacked card has a doubleheader of championship bouts. The card is headlined by Jon Jones defending his light heavyweight title against the surging Thiago Santos, and the co-main features a bantamweight title bout as double-champ Amanda Nunes puts her 135-pound title on the line against former champion Holly Holm.

The post Gilbert Melendez vs. Arnold Allen Set for UFC 239 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Giblert Gilbert Melendez will have to wait a little longer to get back in the octagon. On Monday, the UFC announced via social media that Melendez (22-7) had suffered an injury and was out of his TUF 28 Finale fight with Arnold Allen. Taking his place on just a few weeks notice will be Rick Glenn.

Gilbert Melendez is injured.

🇬🇧 @ArnoldBFA gets a new opponent @GladiatorGlenn on the #TUF28 Finale! pic.twitter.com/0Rc76Mc1FC

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 5, 2018

The nature of Melendez”s injury was not disclosed. The former Strikeforce lightweight champion has not fought in over a year, and has appeared just once per calendar year since 2013. Having lost four straight, most recently to Jeremy Stephens at UFC 215 in September 2017, ‘El Nino’ clearly has his back against the wall.

Replacement Rick Glenn (21-5) enters the night off a victory over Dennis Bermudez in July. Glenn, a former WSOF featherweight champion, is 3-2 in the UFC overall.

Arnold Allen (13-1), meanwhile, is perfect in the UFC through four fights. Most recently, he submitted Mads Burnell at UFC Liverpool.

The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale takes place November 30 at the Park Theatre in Las Vegas. The current season of the show features heavyweights and women’s featherweights.

The post Gilbert Melendez Out of TUF 28 Finale Following Injury appeared first on Cageside Press.

Picking up Fight of the Night honors were featherweights Jeremy Stephens and Gilbert Melendez. Melendez (22-7), a former lightweight title challenger and Strikeforce champ, became a one legged man in an ass-kicking contest when Stephens continually attacked his lead leg. Early in the first round, Melendez looked as if he’d soon be unable to walk, and was dropped to the mat with heavy kicks time and time again. With the doctor keeping a close eye on the affair, the match was allowed to continue, and amazingly, a hobbled and limping Melendez made it through to the final bell.

Stephens (26-14), who picked up the lopsided unanimous decision win, should be credited for sticking to a smart game plan throughout the bout, and refusing to get drawn into a war. Ultimately, the fight will go down as one of the best performances of Lil Heathen’s career.

Picking up Performance of the Night bonuses were Rafael dos Anjos and Henry Cejudo. Dos Anjos (27-9) scored a first round submission victory over Neil Magny, extending his win streak in the welterweight division to two. Cejudo (11-2), meanwhile, knocked out Wilson Reis in the second round of their main card scrap. That snapped the first losing streak of his career, which also happened to be the only two losses on his record.

UFC 215 took place in Edmonton, Alberta at the Rogers Place arena. For more coverage, check our UFC Events page.

The post UFC 215: Stephens vs. Melendez Earns Fight of the Night, Cejudo, RDA Also Rewarded appeared first on Cageside Press.

The featherweight bout between Gilbert Melendez and Jeremy Stephens was originally set to occur at UFC Kansas City, but Melendez was forced to pull out with an injury. Stephens stayed on the card, however, and took a loss against Renato Moicano, his second straight.

Jeremy Stephens has been a UFC staple for many years (since 2007) but does not have the prettiest record, going 12-13 in the Octagon. “Lil’ Heathen” moved down to featherweight back in 2013 and has gone 5-5 since then with notable victories over Dennis Bermudez and Renan Barao.

Gilbert Melendez had a storied career outside of the UFC, establishing himself as a top lightweight with both WEC and Strikeforce title reigns. Melendez is 1-4 in the Octagon, but has fought top 10 opponents in each of those losses.

Jeremy Stephens opened the fight up with a hard leg kick and landed a pair of hooks around the guard of Melendez following a few inconsequential exchanges. Early on, Stephens had a much higher activity level, flaring jabs and landing leg kicks.

Gilbert Melendez showed up with a hard right hand, but Stephens landed a huge leg kick that wobbled Melendez. “El’ Nino” stumbled backwards and fell to his back. Stephens allowed him to stand up and landed a heavy combination.

Melendez continued to push forward until Stephens nailed him with another leg kick, sending Melendez to the canvas. Stephens stood over him, landing a few leg kicks, then joining him on the mat to land ground-and-pound until the round came to a close.

The doctor gave Melendez the OK to start the second round. Melendez’s corner advised him to switch stances and that allowed Melendez to hang with Stephens until another low leg kick landed. Melendez crumbled again, but Stephens forced him to stand. Stephens varied up his strikes and landed a hard head kick.

Stephens pushed forward, threw a pair of punches up high, then went low with the kick and knocked down Melendez. Stephens followed him down and landed heavy ground-and-pound to end the round.

Gilbert Melendez stayed strong and took the best Stephens had to offer in the final round. Melendez fell to the canvas over three times due to the leg kicks and ate a few heavy flurries, but was never in a position to be stopped. As tough as Melendez was, it was a brilliant performance by Jeremy Stephens, his best in years.

The post UFC 215 Results: Jeremy Stephens Leg Kicks His Way to Victory appeared first on Cageside Press.

BREAKING: Jeremy Stephens vs. Gilbert Melendez at featherweight in the works for UFC 215 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Sept 9. #UFC

— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) July 3, 2017

Melendez (22–6), a former Strikeforce lightweight champion who was considered a shoo-in to take gold in the UFC’s 155lb weight class, has suffered three straight losses dating back to December 2014. That stretch began with a title fight loss to Anthony Pettis, and was followed by decision losses to Eddie Alvarez and Edson Barboza.

By the time “El Nino” returns to action, he’ll have been away from the sport for over a year.

Jeremy Stephens (25–14), meanwhile, has lost two straight, most recently a split decision to Renato Moicano at UFC on Fox 24. At least people remember who the fook he is. Stephens made his UFC debut nearly a decade ago at UFC 76 in September 2007, so it will be quite the anniversary celebration if he can defeat Melendez.

UFC 215 takes place September 9 at the Rogers Place arena in Edmonton, Alberta. No headliner has been announced for the card, though a heavyweight showdown between Junior dos Santos and Francis Ngannou has been booked for the event.

The post Gilbert Melendez vs. Jeremy Stephens On Tap for UFC 215 appeared first on Cageside Press.