Gilbert Melendez
Melendez vs. Masvidal live results, blog and analysis
SAN DIEGO, Ca – HeavyMMA.com is live and on the scene for tonight’s “Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal” event in San Diego.
The event takes place at the Valley View Casino Center – formerly known as the San Diego Sports Arena – in San Diego. It features a Strikeforce lightweight title fight between champ Gilbert Melendez and Jorge Masvidal.
Our live coverage will begin at 5:30 p.m. ET.
CHRIS BROWN VS. HERMAN TERRADO: Herman Terrado took one astounding ass-whipping throughout the majority of this fight. He gassed early and, once he realized he couldn’t get a takedown on Chris Brown, was really nothing more than a punching back for Brown’s unorthodox and often just-plain-terrible striking. But as always, you can’t count out anyone in MMA, no matter how badly they’ve been beaten. Down three points due to a docked point for an illegal upkick, Terrado finally secured a takedown halfway through the final fame, worked his way to mount and then got what I can only term a miracle armbar at just over 4 minutes into the third round. It was the very definition of a come-from-behind win, or better yet, an out-of-nowhere win. Herman Terrado d. Chris Brown via submission, round 3
Terrado: “He was a lot more durable than I thought he was. He hits good. Didn’t think he was as tough as he was. He got tired that third round. That’s when I really listened to my corner and gained my composure. I was just waiting for an opening, an opportunity. I got him down, pounded him a little and was able to get the armbar. Very tough guy. Lot of respect. I want to thank STRIKEFORCE for giving me the opportunity to show my skills in front of my hometown. I love this crowd and this city.”
Brown: “I was controlling the first two rounds. Had an adrenaline dump in round three. I took It down and tried to get in a dominant position. I left my arm out there and he got me.”
FERNANDO GONZALEZ VS. EDDIE MENDEZ: Mendez didn’t hold much of an advantage in this fight. But then again, neither did Gonzalez. Both guys were slippery after the first round and so neither could score the submissions they wanted. Mostly what we got here were two guys brawling who weren’t all that good at it. In the end, Mendez takes a split decision. Eddie Mendez d. Fernando Gonzalez via split decision.
Mendez: “An old injury kept me from doing some of the things I really wanted to do, but I was happy to win. He came to fight. He was down for striking, down for rolling around. He’s got a heck of a head. I figured that out half way through the second round. Just tried to gut out the win. The fight goes the way it goes. I’m not going to argue with the judges.”
Gonzalez: “I tired after the first round. Got him with a good elbow in the first, and thought I won that round. I stayed away in the 2nd and I think in the judges’ eyes that’s where the fight changed. Came out in the third and stepped it up, got more aggressive. Thought I won 2-1 but that’s not always how it goes. Judges don’t always see it the way you do.”
DEVIN COLE VS. GABRIEL SALINAS-JONES: Oh man, this fight was terrible. The less said here, the better. Cole’s wrestling was too much for GSJ (a new nickname I literally just made up for him), and though the former Challengers product didn’t look good, it was enough to wrestle him to victory. On the plus side, he looked significantly healthier than he has in previous fights, likely due to the presence of nutrition guru Mike Dolce in his corner. Devin Cole d. Gabriel Salinas-Jones via unanimous decision
Cole: “The game plan was to tire him in the first, which I did. Then I got poked in the eye in the second round and I couldn’t see until half-way through the third round. That threw off my game plan and had to settle for grinding out the win. I still tried to finish him but it was tough considering I couldn’t see that well for six or seven minutes. Still it was a good win over a tough opponent.”
GSJ: “I need to wrestle more. I’ve never wrestled. I’ve been able to get far, but the higher I get, the more well-rounded I need to be and the harder I need to train. I need to hire a good wrestling coach. Devin is a good wrestler and that got me.”
ROGER BOWLING VS. JERRON PEOPLES: Peoples came in 10.5 pounds over the 170-pound welterweight limit. Actually, his camp got Bowling to agree to a 179-pound catchweight fight, and he still missed that by a full 1.5 pounds. He had sweet entrance music with “Like A Virgin” and a horrible purple haircut thing, but that was his most interesting contribution to the night. Roger Bowling knocked him out in 42 seconds to liven up the crowd a bit and get things rolling here at the arena again. Roger Bowling d. Jerron Peoples via KO, round 1 (0:42)
Bowling: “ I was real emotional at the weigh-ins because he came in so overweight. I just thought it was really unprofessional to not make weight. I wanted to come out and punish him. I came out with a lot of emotion, probably too much emotion. I needed to be a little more relaxed. I took this fight on three weeks’ notice and obviously happy with the result.”
Peoples: “There is no excuse for coming in overweight. I’m very apologetic, very embarrassed. Added a lot of stress to today. I had an ankle injury five days ago and it made it tough to cut weight. No excuses though. I blew my opportunity and I’m very disappointed I let everyone down. I’ve never been knocked out in my life and I got caught. Everything that’s gone on this week really led to this outcome.”
CAROS FODOR VS. JUSTIN WILCOX: Fodor is the brother of Phoenix Jones, the Seattle man who dresses up as a superhero and fights crime. He fought Justin Wilcox here, but only briefly, dropping him to the canvas with a nasty right behind the ear (also known as The Punch of Death) and then landing approximately 10 unanswered shots to the side of the head before the ref stepped in to save the day. Quick fight and a big win for a solid underdog going into the fight. Caros Fodor d. Justin Wilcox via TKO, round 1 (0:13)
Fodor: “I trained hard for this fight. Justin was my toughest opponent to date. I was nervous out there. It was all kind of a blur. He went in for a fake, I caught him and saw him go down face first. I wanted to keep him on the ground and make sure he didn’t get up. It was my first knockout. We planned for a 15-minute bout and thought we would need to grind out a win against Justin. I believe I’m one fight away from a title shot. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Gilbert (Melendez). I believe he will win tonight and I want the opportunity to fight for the title.”
Wilcox: “I got caught. I got hit behind the ear and couldn’t do anything about it.”
As a side note, referee John McCarthy is one of the judges tonight, along with a very red-haired Gene Lebell, Cecil Peoples and someone else I do not recognize in the slightest.
Former WEC announcer Joe Martinez is the new Strikeforce ring announcer, replacing Jimmy Lennon Jr. Good upgrade in that department.
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BILLY EVANGELISTA VS. K.J. NOONS
Round 1: Noons opens up the action with a couple of nice leg kicks, then weaves out of the way when Evangelista tries to punch him. Noons with a takedown! Wow, haven’t seen that much. It was a nice one, too, but Evangelista gets back up immediately. I think Evangelista borrowed his trunks from Joe Duarte. Seriously. Evangelista with a big slam, but Noons gets back up immediately as well. Clinch against the cage and a big knee from Evangelista. Evangelista looking for a trip takedown but it’s not there this time around. Noons wants that big right uppercut and you can see him preparing to throw it. They trade leg kicks. Big knee from Noons lands flush, but Evangelista is fine. Left hook from Evangelista stumbles Noons but he recovers quickly. Noons is getting sloppy with his work now, which he tends to do. Noons misses a huge uppercut but lands a right directly after. Evangelista finishes the round with a flurry but it’s not enough to outpoint Noons, who landed the bigger shots. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for K.J. Noons.
Round 2: Noons opens with more leg kicks of the inside variety, then goes to the body with hooks before Evangelista scores a leg kick of his own. Noons fakes a leg kick, lands a sweet back spinning kick, then follows with a spinning back fist before landing a right hook. Nice combo. Head kick from Noons. He’s loosening up. Noons is using a front kick to keep Evangelista away from him. Noons lands several straight rights, but Evangelista smiles and shakes his head, telling him they don’t hurt at all.Evangelista lands a fun right of his own. These two are pretty much trading in the pocket at this point. Noons still can’t get the takedown. Evangelista is still shaking his head at Noons, telling him he’s not being hurt, but here’s the thing: HE IS STILL LANDING STRIKES ON YOU. Stop smiling and dropping your head and maybe block some punches. This strategy is baffling to me. The round ends with Noons clinching Evangelista against the cage. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Noons.
Round 3: Evangelista looks much fresher at this point. They’re swinging for the fences. It’s a lot like the last round except with harder punches. Noons still wants that uppercut. Noons lands a nice head kick, then a spinning back fist. Evangelista shoots but doesn’t get the takedown. Noons is landing from a distance now. This is a great fight. Evangelista is really pressing the action and Noons is trying to get away. Noons tries another takedown but can’t get it, and Evangelista locks on a Darce choke, Noons scrambles to get away and just barely does, but he’s exhausted. The crowd roars. They’re all standing up, in fact. Noons swings for the fences. They high five each other and then begin trading punches. It’s almost like they have an agreement to just trade punches. Evangelista lands an open slap. Well, that fight was awesome. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for K.J. Noons.
WINNER: K.J. NOONS BY UNANIMOUS DECISION (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
GEGARD MOUSASI VS. OVINCE ST. PREUX
Round 1: St. Preux has giant legs. Mousasi lands some leg kicks early on. He’s stalking St. Preux, which we’re not really used to seeing. St. Preux’s corner is telling him to use a certain combo and he’s not doing it. Headh kick misses from Mousasi. St. Preux gets a body kick caught and Mousasi takes him to the ground immediately, into half guard. Big punches landing from the top for Mousasi. He stands up and drops bombs. St. Preux wants an armbar, but Mousasi tosses it aside and goes into side control. St. Preux gets up, but Mousasi wrestles him back down. Yeah, Mousasi wrestled OSP. Little surprised there, to be honest. Mousasi back in half guard and he’s looking for the kimura. He nearly gets it, but OSP escapes and ends up on top in half guard. This is awesome. Mousasi sweeps him and gets on top, then lands shots from the top. He goes into Salaverry, landing punches until the round ends. That was a fun round. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Gegard Mousasi.
Round 2: Mousasi takes OSP down again. Quite the stunning development here, although we were told Mousasi had been drilling nothing but wrestling since his last fight. Mousasi is in half guard again and landing short, but probably effective, elbows. The crowd isn’t liking this a lot, but it’s effective tactical work from Mousasi. The ref stands them up. Mousasi with a leg kick. Flying knee from OSP caught by Mousasi, who goes for a takedown, but OSP grabs a leg and takes Mousasi down instead. OSP is in side control, using elbows. A fan wants the ref to stand them up, but I mean, OSP’s in side control. Mousasi gets up anyway and then misses a big head kick, but so does OSP. Mousasi sprawls an OSP takedown attempt and the round ends. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Gegard Mousasi.
Round 3: Mousasi grabs the flying knee again, then gets another takedown. OSP back to his feet, but then he grabs the cage to prevent a slam. OSP gets the quick takedown into side control. He’s just not doing much with the position. OSP quickly moves into mount, then starts raining down elbows, but all of them are blocked. Mousasi shrugs him off, gets to a seated position and back to his feet, where he gets a takedown. He immediately jumps on his back, but OSP gets to his feet and gets a takedown of his own. Mousasi escapes and gets OSP to the ground. Takedown city, here we come. Mousasi briefly wanted a rear-naked here but misses his chance and falls into guard instead. OSP moves away, Mousasi goes for another rear-naked and OSP escapes out the back door, then stands up. St. Preux looks for a Darce, but there’s only 10 seconds left. He doesn’t get it. Mousasi should win this one 29-28. Heavy.com scores the round for Ovince St. Preux.
WINNER: GEGARD MOUSASI BY UNANIMOUS DECISION (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
A feeling of doom has descended here on the arena, which means it must be time for Cyborg to fight another lady. This could get ugly and I’ll be surprised if it lasts longer than three minutes.
CRISTIANE “CYBORG” SANTOS VS. HIROKO YAMANAKA
Round 1: Yeah, that was ugly. Cyborg comes out firing and drops Yamanaka immediately. She somehow makes it back to her feet before Cyborg absolutely murders her against the cage, dropping her again. Thank God the ref stepped in here, because this got ugly fast. Other female fighters are going to think twice about stepping in there with Cyborg. This was brutal.
WINNER: CRIS CYBORG VIA KO, round 1 (0:16)
GILBERT MELENDEZ VS. JORGE MASVIDAL
Round 1: Feeling out process starts us off in the first, with both guys trying to find range. Melendez connects first with a straight right. Nasty leg kick from Masvidal. Melendez connects several times in response. Masvidal finds a home for a jab of his own. Masvidal drops his hands and mocks Melendez. Not sure what that’s about, but Melendez tags him anway. Nice crawling uppercut from Melendez. Melendez is constantly landing the right straight down the pipe. Masvidal takes Melendez’s legs out from under him with a leg kick, but Gil scrambles back to his feet. Masvidal landing the jab pretty well, still. Melendez catches a knee, drops Masvidal down and looks for a guillotine. He doesn’t get it, but he lands several big knees. Masvidal lands a couple of shots, but not enough to do damage. Masvidal is bleeding under his left eye. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Gilbert Melendez.
Round 2: Melendez has a nasty welt on his left leg from leg kicks. Body combo finished with a right to the head for Melendez. Another combo. Melendez appears to be much too fast for him. Nice leg kick from Masvidal is answered with a straight right. Masvidal is back away much more in this round than he did in the first, but he still appears highly confident. Melendez blocks a head kick and lands a straight right. Melendez stalking Masvidal now. Masvidal with a nice jab of his own. Melendez gaining confidence as he eats a few of Masvida’s punches. Melendez punches Masvidal in mid-air, dropping him, but lets him back up. I’m not sure if the crowd is chanting Nino or Tebow but neither would surprise me because Tim Tebow is awesome. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Melendez.
Round 3: Melendez opens up with two quick jabs and a straight right. Masvidal circles away. Melendez finally shoots for a takedown but doesn’t get it.They exchange a bunch of punches. Melendez still finding a home for that right but it doesn’t appear to be doing too much damage. Neither guy seems worried about the others punching power. Gilbert’s right eye is starting to close, however, indicating that Masvidal is going the most damage. Melendez’s mouthpiece comes out so they stop briefly to put it back in. Masvidal is targeting the right eye now. Masvidal’s jab is really closing up that eye now and he’s starting to land it more and more. Melendez still finding a home for the right hand but Masvidal is really landing that lead jab, and Gil’s eye is busted up.Melendez lands four punches, then two more. These guys are slugging it out. Melendez lands one final big shot as the round comes to a close, sealing a fairly close frame for him. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Gilbert Melendez.
Round 4: Melendez comes out firing again, landing consecutive shots. He’s using that Nick/Nate Diaz right hand winging punch a lot and it’s working. Uppercut from Melendez. He’s starting to land more and more, and he’s protecting his eye now as well. Straight right down the pipe from Melendez. He lands another. Masvidal has a solid chin. Melendez just blew his nose which means that eye is going to swell up badly. Straight right from Masvidal. Leg kick from Melendez. Masvidal uses a front kick to the leg which is supposed to be illegal in California now, and Melendez complains. I think we’re destined to get five rounds here. Melendez firing away now. He’s going for the kill. Well, I thought so, but he backs off. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Melendez.
Round 5: Melendez out connecting on shots early, but Masvidal lands his first real meaningful combination of the entire fight. Melendez fires back, however. Masvidal is just a tough dude. Melendez has landed a ton of punshes but there’s barely a mark on Masvidal’s face. Big body shot from Masvidal. Front kick to the face misses from Masvidal and Gilbert counters with a straight right. Melendez lands roughly 7 punches but Masvidal just keeps walking forward. He’s talking to Gilbert, trying to sucker him into doing something dumb, but Melendez just smiles. Masvidal keeps talking. Melendez breathing heavily now but he’s not moving like he’s tired at all. Left hook from Melendez. Masvidal misses a flying knee and Gil lands yet another straight right. I’d love to know how many of those he landed tonight, CompuStrike. One minute remaining. Right hand from Melendez. Masvidal is a zombie. They’re trading punches now, ending this fight on an exciting note. Both guys throwing like crazy. Masvidal shoots, gets Melendez down but Melendez stands up and clinches. Masvidal reverses as the fight ends. Heavy.com scores the round 10-19 for Gilbert Melendez.
WINNER: GILBERT MELENDEZ via unanimous decision