Melendez vs. Masvidal

This is the official discussion thread for Melendez vs. Masvidal. Let's see what you've got.

I will take Melendez..

I don't think I'd go against Melendez until he finds himself in the UFC... then maybe I'd think about depending on the matchup (Bendo vs Melendez would be fantastic)

both our sigs are baby jay :)

Another middle of the road at best LW for Melendez to smash, and people call him top 3...but Hector Lombard doesn't deserve top 10. I don't understand it.

@Dannotheman I personally wouldn't argue with either being top 10 or top 5 in their divisions, both are absolutely amazing fighters in my opinion. That being said I think Melendez has probably faced stronger competition (so many factors though). But no doubt Lombard is a monster, always fun to watch.

Rankings are always debatable and can never be too official because despite what a lot of people seem to think mma, fighting is a little deeper than " X>Y>Z "

* Edited at 09.09.2011, 3:47 PM ET *

first @danno, i have lombard at number 6 in my top 10, im a firm believer in his talents...

also, jorge could surprise gil IF (BIG IF) masvidal can keep it standing...his standup looked pretty damn good against noons imo...however, jorge's stamina died at the end of a standup fight, so i can't see him lasting 5 rounds with the gil machine

Melendez will just mix it up too well for Masvidal.  When Masvidal is looking to throw strikes, Melendez will get the takedown.  When Masvidal is wary of the take down, Melndez will punch him in the head.

I see it ending in the 2nd or 3rd round, with Melendez on top groundNpounding.

Melendez is in a class far above that of Masvidal. Melendez wins this one either by TKO or submission in the 2nd round.

I'm taking Masvidal here,

I never really bought in to Melendez being a top 5 lightweight.

And i think Masvidal could get the win here.

i agree with @bassistdood

i dont think gil is anywhere near top 5 LW or even top ten i would say he is maybe top 15 because other then beating a couple dream fighters that obviously looked awkward in the cage, josh tompson and a young clay guida he hasnt beat anyone really

and i dont like the guy either so i gotta take masvidal on this one vid submission cause more likely then not gil will try to use his wrestling

Masvidal can't keep it standing long enough to have a chance. He gets taken down and pounded out. 
On another note, why is Melendez, a top 3 lw, fighting Jorge Masvidal....?

@fglop there is no way gillbert is anywhere close to a top 3 LW thats ridiculous

I can only imagine that he was joking when he said that.

I'd pick Bendo, Maynard, Edgar, Guida all over Melendez.

hell i would put edgar, maynard, bendo, guida, miller, cerrone, alverez, siver, pettis all above melendez

@xbassistdoodx
Aoki was top 2 when Melendez beat him and I think Kawajiri was top 10. That's his last two fights, who other @ lw has done that recently? (Other than Edgar)
If Gil isn't top three w/ Maynard and Edgar WHO IS? Guida with one top ten win (who Gil beat btw)? Guillard with zero top ten wins? Bendo with one top ten win? Jim Miller with zero top ten wins? Just b/c Gil doesn't fight for the UFC doesn't mean he isn't a top lw.

WHAT ARE YOU GUYS SAYING GILBERT'S ALREADY BEATEN GUIDA

Meldndez is clearly one of the best lightweights in the world.  Top 5 at least.

gil beat guida in 2006 by split decision

thats not even relevent anymore

ya he beat shinya who was top 10 and kawajiri who was maybe top 15

but he still hasnt really done much when he beats siver, bendo, miller, cerrone, guida, gulliard then he can be considered top top right now the only way he is is if he is 9 or 10

@justyn
Aoki was top 2, check the rankings from the time. There was BJ and there was Shinya. If you don't buy that then buy the fact that Aoki has like 9 top ten wins and a couple of top ten wins @ welterweight.
Anways Gil's ranked by Sherdog as number two, and number one by many others. Saying he's top 3/5 is prude.
Beating guida doesn't count? Then Guida's recent win over Gomi shouldn't count b/c Gomi's out of his prime. You can pretty much play this game with any fighter's wins.
I honestly can't see how you can justify putting anyone other than Maynard/Edgar above Gil.
Siver: Beat wiman and gsot... Gsot's been exposed and has zero top ten wins and Wiman's a gate keeper. Solid wins at best.
Bendo: Miller's a good win, but he was over ranked to begin with as Miller had zero top ten wins. He's also beaten Cerrone 2x which are solid wins.
Miller: LMAO, ZERO TOP WINS BUDDY. I CAN'T EVEN THINK OF HIS BEST WIN.
Cerrone: Again, zero top ten wins but he was impressive against Olivera. It is debateable as to whether he should be ranked or not.
Guida: He beat Guida.... So Guida's laid on Pettis, which is a solid win nonetheless, and tapped Gomi, which shouldn't be relevant at this point. Not as impressive as destroying Aoki and Kawajiri.
Guillard: Couple nice ko's but he's had some questionable decisions against Tibau and Stephens. Plus his ground game is suspect. Zero top ten wins means that he isn't top 5.

well its all personal opinion for the most part

but shinya looked like **** that fight all he did was crawl around

gil did crush "the crusher" but other then those to he hasnt done ****

he beat josh tompson (after loosing to him) he beat ishida which isnt anything special he hasnt fought really anyone and anyone that has him top 5 doesnt know **** about MMA until he fights someone like edgar, maynard, bendo, guida (again), gulliard, siver, alverez, cerrone, miller you cant make a real case for him being top 5 at all

strikforce has gave him people that they knew wouldnt really have a chance to beat him and until he is really tested im not buying into the hype train