The former Santa Ana High wrestler defends his Strikeforce title on Saturday at Playboy Mansion
By CARLOS ARIAS
The Orange County Register
LOS ANGELES –Gilbert Melendez rained down a tornado of punches and elbows on his training partner, Jake Shields, who held the pads as Melendez worked on his ferocious ground-and-pound attack.
It is four days before the fight, and Melendez said he is going to do a light workout at Legends MMA Training Center to stay loose for his Strikeforce lightweight title defense against Tetsuji Kato on Saturday at the Playboy Mansion.
One wonders what a hard workout is for Melendez, who trains under Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master Cesar Gracie in Northern California along with Shields and the Diaz brothers, Nick and Nate.
"It didn't feel good, that's for sure," Shields said after absorbing round after round of Melendez's heavy-handed punches.
Nick Diaz and Shields are considered to be among the top 170-pounders in the world and Nate Diaz recently won "The Ultimate Fighter 5" lightweight competition. Melendez recently cracked Yahoo! Sports MMA pound-for-pound rankings, checking in at No. 10.
Melendez said the training sessions are so intense that the fights end up being the easy part.
"It's not going to be as bad as going with Nick or Jake or Nate," Melendez said.
Melendez was born and raised in Santa Ana where he was a standout wrestler at Santa Ana High under Saints coach Scott Glabb. He got a scholarship to wrestle at San Francisco State, but he found mixed martial arts and decided to leave school to embark on a professional fighting career.
"I've always been a fan, but I never thought I would be here," Melendez said. "Now, that I look back on being a kid and the way I grew up and the way that I acted, the way I trained for wrestling, it all makes sense why I'm doing what I'm doing.
Melendez's father, Gilbert Sr., said he had never heard of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and knew very little about mixed martial arts when his son told him he was going to fight professionally.
"When he got a scholarship to go to San Francisco it was to go to school and, hopefully, become a teacher and a coach not an MMA fighter," Gilbert Sr. said. "But I'm happy for him because he's really dedicated himself to it."
Melendez won titles in the WEC and Strikeforce, but his big break came when he defeated Nobuhiro Obiya at PRIDE's Bushido 12 event in August 2006. He followed up that performance with another impressive victory over Tatsuya Kawajiri at PRIDE's New Year's Eve event. Melendez had positioned himself as one of the top contenders in PRIDE's Lightweight Grand Prix, which was supposed to take place this year before PRIDE went out of business and was purchased by Zuffa, which also owns the UFC.
"Things happen for a reason," Melendez said. "That's what it seems like it's been for me through my journey. I had a game plan and it was to be (PRIDE's) Lightweight Grand Prix champion by the end of September. Obviously, that's not happening. It sucks, but I have a new game plan. The game plan is to keep winning, keep fighting and try to get to be No. 1."
Melendez said he wants to go up against the top 155-pounders in the world.
"Obviously, PRIDE is done," Melendez said. "Times are changing. UFC is becoming the powerhouse. There are great fighters there. As far as the UFC is, Sean Sherk is the stud and by far the biggest standout. Nathan (Diaz) is awesome. I think that Greg Maynard has a lot of great potential. Even (Roger) Huerta, a lot of people give him a bunch of (mess), but I think he is tough. I give him a lot of credit. I like his style. There are a lot of fighters that are going to be real competitive, but I want a piece of Sherk."
The WEC also has a lot of top fighters at 155 pounds, including WEC lightweight champion "Razor" Rob McCullough of Huntington Beach.
"As far as the WEC, I think I'm still the champ," Melendez said. "I don't think I ever lost the belt. Tell 'Razor' Rob that. He's a great fighter too. He's a stud. I wouldn't mind fighting him either. There is a lot of great talent out there that I wouldn't mind getting into and tangling up with those guys as well and continue to prove myself out there."
Yahoo! Sports will begin streaming the Strikeforce main card for free online on Saturday at 9 p.m. at http://sports.yahoo.com.