Props to Dana and co. for giving Melendez the title shot. It's the right thing to do.

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Just when I thought the UFC had thrown all credibility as a legitimate sporting organization out the window in order to appeal to the lowest common denominator by booking fights like Chael vs. Jones, they go and restore their credibility by booking the 2 top LW's in a title fight even though one of them has never fought in the UFC and isn't as known to fans who only follow the UFC.

It's the right thing to do and it shows they do take this sport seriously and will sometimes still look to book fights based on rankings instead of monetary gain. Gilbert Melendez has been at or near the top of the rankings since before Ben Henderson even had his first professional fight. The fans may not know him, but the rankings sure do, they know him very well.

Really excited for this fight. It might be my most anticipated fight of the year.

Another thing to add is that regardless of who wins, it doesn't mean the loser is overrated. They have both proven they belong where they are and a loss to the other doesn't mean UFC is overrated or Strikeforce is overrated. It just means the winner of the fight matched up better with the loser than the loser did with the winner. A big problem MMA fans have is letting their bias get in the way of legitimately judging things.

It's been proven time and time again that organization doesn't matter, whether it's UFC vs PRIDE where PRIDE fans claimed UFC fighters couldn't hang with PRIDE fighters, then it went pretty much 50/50, or when UFC fans did the same thing they hated PRIDE fans for doing to them and claimed WEC fighters couldn't hang with the UFC fighters, then they did. It doesn't matter where you fight, be it PRIDE, UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, Bellator, etc, what matters is how you match up with your current opponent.
 
Props to Dana and co. for giving Melendez the title shot. It's the right thing to do

Props to Dana and co. for giving Sonnen the title shot. It's the right thing to do

Props to Dana and co. for giving Diaz the title shot. It's the right thing to do
 
Isn't official yet and we still have Jones fighting Sonnen so don't get too excited so soon.
 
BigTimmy said:
Props to Dana and co. for giving Melendez the title shot. It's the right thing to do

Props to Dana and co. for giving Sonnen the title shot. It's the right thing to do

Props to Dana and co. for giving Diaz the title shot. It's the right thing to do
Click to expand...

Props to Dana and co. for giving Edgar the title shot. It's the right thing to do.
 
that definitely works if Cerrone beats Pettis because even though Henderson-Cerrone 3 is interesting, i don't see Cerrone winning that one either. so who would Pettis fight then if he beats Cowboy? Miller or Maynard?
 
They have to get some money out of their investment...and that wouldn't happen by making him earn a shot in the traditional manner. Seemed like the most logical business decision.
 
Realistically, as "stacked", "deep", "insert hyperbole here" as lightweight division is, there really isn't someone other than Melendez who is on an undefeated streak and is available to fight by April:

1) Pettis/Cowboy: Cowboy already lost to Benson twice. Pettis rematch would be awesome, but what if he loses or is injured in the fight/not ready by April?

2) Miller: got dominated by Benson a year and a half ago, is 2-2 in his last 4.

3) Maynard: perrenial contender but last fight was bad (not his fault, but still), and just had two title shots in a row a year and a half ago.

4) Alvarez: no guarantee that the Bellator contract dispute will work out by April/at all.

5) Lauzon: just got beaten by Miller.

6) I'm probably leaving someone out, feel free to correct me.
 
The UFC can still make the Jones v Sonnen fight at a catch-weight. You can't correct a mistake by simply not making another one.

Edgar's gift is not the same. He was scheduled for a tune up fight until Koch got injured and he stepped in as a replacement.
 
Dana's a fan of Melendez. Of course he was going to get a title shot. Look at Nick Diaz.

Bendo will mop the floor with him though.
 
LilNubi said:
Isn't official yet and we still have Jones fighting Sonnen so don't get too excited so soon.
Click to expand...

You people do realize that the largest factor to Sonnen being picked is because of TUF right? Also Sonnen was there willing to fight no matter what. Henderson got hurt, Machida said no and Gustafsson already had a fight. Not saying it was exactly the best choice, but when you factor in TUF and all the other shit going on at the time, I think it was the best option on the table. Dana didn't want to give it to Machida or Henderson and tbh if I was the boss I would've done the same.
 
i'm weird (compared to most of sherdog) about title shots. i don't give a fuck if it is or isn't the "right" thing to do. most of the time i'm ok with the matchups, and don't get hellbent on who DIDN'T get the shot.

but i like Gil v Ben. i'll watch it.
 
Still believe Pettis should be next if he passes Cerrone. Dana keeps promising Pettis shots but never comes through with them.
 
Makestro said:
You people do realize that the largest factor to Sonnen being picked is because of TUF right? Also Sonnen was there willing to fight no matter what. Henderson got hurt, Machida said no and Gustafsson already had a fight. Not saying it was exactly the best choice, but when you factor in TUF and all the other shit going on at the time, I think it was the best option on the table. Dana didn't want to give it to Machida or Henderson and tbh if I was the boss I would've done the same.
Click to expand...

In the short-term Sonnen-Jones makes more money, but in the big picture it hurts the legitimacy of the UFC. Sonnen hasn't won a major fight at Light Heavyweight since ... ever. While entertainment value matters, at last 51% of matchmaking has to be about track-record and performance, or the sport can't be taken seriously.
 
Mendelez pulls out of one card, killing the entire event, than he pulls out of another card, retaining his Strikeforce championship withou defending it, and he gets an immediate title shot in UFC.
At the same time they give Diaz and Hendo a tune-up fight before allowing them to fight for the title.
This situation actually surprised me.
 
Shwartz said:
Mendelez pulls out of one card, killing the entire event, than he pulls out of another card, retaining his Strikeforce championship withou defending it, and he gets an immediate title shot in UFC.
At the same time they give Diaz and Hendo a tune-up fight before allowing them to fight for the title.
This situation actually surprised me.
Click to expand...

To me its not that surprising. UFC has done some WTF decisions a lot as of late.
 
Shwartz said:
Mendelez pulls out of one card, killing the entire event, than he pulls out of another card, retaining his Strikeforce championship withou defending it, and he gets an immediate title shot in UFC.
At the same time they give Diaz and Hendo a tune-up fight before allowing them to fight for the title.
This situation actually surprised me.
Click to expand...

Don't forget the highway robbery that was the Melendez/Thomson rubber match. Josh Thomson should be SF 155 champ, not Melendez.
 
HaulParris said:
Realistically, as "stacked", "deep", "insert hyperbole here" as lightweight division is, there really isn't someone other than Melendez who is on an undefeated streak and is available to fight by April:

1) Pettis/Cowboy: Cowboy already lost to Benson twice. Pettis rematch would be awesome, but what if he loses or is injured in the fight/not ready by April?

2) Miller: got dominated by Benson a year and a half ago, is 2-2 in his last 4.

3) Maynard: perrenial contender but last fight was bad (not his fault, but still), and just had two title shots in a row a year and a half ago.

4) Alvarez: no guarantee that the Bellator contract dispute will work out by April/at all.

5) Lauzon: just got beaten by Miller.

6) I'm probably leaving someone out, feel free to correct me.
Click to expand...
K-1_Dynamite_Shinya_Aoki_vs_Mizuto_Hirota_2009-12-31.jpg
 
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