Last Saturday Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson fought for a third time under the Strikeforce banner in the co-main event of a show in San Jose. Melendez won the rubber match by the closest margin, a split-decision in which all the scores were 48-47.
The decision was booed, and many have offered their opinions as to who should have won the fight while some are calling for another meeting between the two to properly settle the score.
Here, two guest sportsnet.ca bloggers, Dwight Wakabayashi of The Bleacher Report and Carlin Bardsley of MMA Sucka, debate the Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson decision and whether we should see a fourth matchup between the two.
Cast your votes as to whose arguments you like better…
WHO SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE DECISION?
Bardsley: Thomson did more damage
Josh (The Punk) Thomson was robbed of the Strikeforce lightweight title and victory in his trilogy of fights against Gilbert (El Nino) Melendez on Saturday night. The crowd was dismayed as announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr., read aloud the judges’ scores, giving Melendez the nod via split decision. While the fight was close, the wrong man’s hand was raised at the bout’s conclusion.
The first round went to the champion, as Melendez set the tone nicely with some effective striking and two takedowns. The Melendez show carried on into the second round, notching one more in the bank for “El Nino.”
Then the third round is when things began to change. Thomson was landing more powerful shots to the champion and doing more damage, which was evidenced in the growing amount of swelling around Melendez’s eye. The momentum clearly swung at that point, and “The Punk” poured it on from that point forward.
Thomson nearly had Melendez submitted with a rear naked choke in the fourth round and boxed up the “Scrap Pack” member in the fifth, giving him a 48-47 victory on my scorecard and also on judge Susan Thomas-Gitlin’s.
That score doesn’t even take into account the two separate eyepokes Melendez gave Thomson that went unpunished, nor the elbows to the back of Thomson’s head in Round Two that also went ignored by referee Dan Stell.
In the end, Melendez even lost by his own camp’s definition of winning/losing a fight: the winner is the one causing the most damage and winning at the end of the fight. But Thomson can take comfort in knowing that the people who saw the fight know who really won.
Wakabayashi: Melendez deserved the decision
Both fighters came out very respectful and cautious to start but I gave the first round to Melendez by a stitch. I thought he was the aggressor, had the centre of the cage and he landed two takedowns. Although Thomson got right back up, he was backing for most of the round.
The second round was a bit more decisive for Melendez. He was the much busier fighter all around, threw and landed twice as many strikes as Thomson. He also secured another couple of takedowns to put a stamp on the round. It Seemed Gilbert was getting nice and warmed up and finding a rhythm that Thomson was still searching for.
In the third round Thomson started to move forward better and more often. I still gave the third round to Melendez based on some significant striking with elbows and uppercuts. Thomson did get a trip takedown on Melendez but was unable to follow up, and Melendez was able to score more in the round.
The fourth round was a clear round for Thomson, and where he began to take the fight to Melendez. He got dominant position on Melendez and almost had him in a tight rear naked choke. It really was the closest the fight ever came to a finish and Thomson looked the faster, fresher fighter as he also landed some slick combos.
In the final round, it looked clear to me that Melendez thought he had the fight won and wanted to ride out the victory. He started to move around a bit more and make Thomson chase him. Thomson did chase and find him for some nice combos in the round and he ended the fight in dominant position.
But in the end I felt it was too little too late. I scored it 48-47 for Melendez, as did two of the three judges.
POLL:
Whose case do you like better?
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SHOULD WE SEE A FOURTH FIGHT IN STRIKEFORCE?
Bardsley: Melendez-Thomson 4 would be good value
“Sure, whatever.” That was Melendez’ response to a possible fourth fight against Thomson. With a ringing endorsement like that, who wouldn’t want to them go at it again?
All kidding aside, these two have put on fifteen rounds of incredibly entertaining fighting and the result of the trilogy is viewed by many as in doubt. A fourth fight between Melendez and Thomson may be the only marquee matchup that Strikeforce currently has in the lightweight division.
UFC president Dana White keeps insisting that Melendez will be staying in Strikeforce. Melendez certainly didn’t make a strong case in being among the top lightweights under the Zuffa banner on Saturday night, while Thomson’s value has skyrocketed as a result of his gutsy performance.
With KJ Noons and JZ Cavalcante coming off losses and Isaac Vallie-Flagg not quite ready for a main event, the options within Strikeforce for a Melendez title defence are limited. A fourth fight with Thomson is not only marketable given the controversial nature of the split decision in their third fight, it also guarantees Scott Coker et al. an entertaining scrap that will please the fans no matter the result.
Strikeforce appears to be a dead promotion walking at this point. It seems to be an inevitability that the promotion will either close its doors or every piece of marketable talent will be syphoned off into the UFC. But while the company continues to breathe and put on events, one of the last great things it can do is to give the fans paying their hard-earned dollar the best value possible and that means giving us Melendez-Thomson one last time.
Wakabayashi: Time for the ultimate challenge for both fighters
I have never been on the side that believes that Melendez is the best 155-pounder in the world and I really don’t think he is even close. This fight didn’t change my mind but it also should put to rest any more Melendez-Thomson matchups.
It is time for Gilbert to find a new motivation in the UFC. Unless he can jump in and swim with the killer sharks in the UFC lightweight division, performances like this one will be his norm and we will never know how good he is or can be. At 30 years old, the time is now.
Time to bring him over and give him a top-10 UFC lightweight to get his feet wet in the big show. I don’t feel he deserves a title shot, or even a No. 1 contender shot yet. He has not earned the right to be in the mix with Ben Henderson, Frankie Edgar, Nate Diaz, or even Anthony Pettis, the former WEC lightweight champion who hasn’t even gotten a title shot yet.
I would give him any one of the next four or five guys in line and see if he can hang in with them first. How about Jim Miller, Joe Lauzon, Melvin Guillard? How about Donald Cerrone, Clay Guida or Gray Maynard? Would Melendez beat any one of these guys? I feel this is where Melendez should start in the UFC pecking order. If he fights like he did against Thomson, I’m telling you now that all or any of these guys will beat him easily.
As for Thomson, he almost beat the over-hyped Melendez and deserves a UFC contract as well. I see him as on par, or just a small step below Melendez, and he could take on any one of the top-10 bubble fighters like a Mark Bocek, Mac Danzig or Jeremy Stephens. He could even be a good measuring stick for a true up-and-comer like Edson Barboza or Evan Dunham.
Doesn’t Sean Sherk want a comeback fight at 155?
POLL:
Whose case do you like better?
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Dwight Wakabayashi is a featured columnist for BleacherReport.com and a writer/analyst for MMACanada.net.
Carlin Bardsley is a writer for MMASucka.com and the host of a daily MMA radio show on NextSportStar.com.
