Q&A with Gilbert Melendez from April 2013

This is a Q&A interview I conducted with Gilbert Melendez prior to his title fight against Benson Henderson for the UFC on Fox Card in April of 2013. Gilbert was a really laid back and nice guy who took some time off on his only day off that week to speak with me. We discussed his upcoming fight with Benson, the Caesar Gracie Team, and as Strikeforce Lightweight Champion. 

The UFC Lightweight Division is arguably the deepest division in the UFC right now. Why do you believe you were given the title shot over many other top level fighters in the division?

Well I have been in this sport a long time. I think my record and accomplishments speak for themselves. There is a lot of talent out there it, a lot of it has to do with what I have accomplished. A lot of it has to do with timing. I think it obviously champion vs champion. People want to see this fight. I am kind of a mystery guy. Am I the best or Am I a joke but we all know what is already going on in the lightweight division. There is a pecking order there, except where I stand in that division. Am I at the top or am I at the bottom. It intriguing to figure it out.

Many combat sports enthusiasts talk about the heart of a Latino Fighter in boxing and in MMA. As a Mexican American, how would you define the heart of a Latino Fighter and how it differs from fighters from other cultures.

I am definitely a Mexican American. I don’t speak very good Spanish and I get made fun of by my by all my cousins, family, and friends in Santa Ana (Gilbert’s hometown in Southern California.) There is one way I can  relate to my Mexican peeps and that is the way I fight. The Mexican blood in me. I fight with my heart. It is more important for me to show the warrior in me than to win.  I would rather not be a runner. To answer your question, we fight with a lot of heart. It is obvious that a lot of Mexican do that and it is more important for us to go out there and fight our hearts out then try to win a stick and move victory. They would rather respect the loser that put it out there. The Mexicans are trying to run the sport and once we do we will dominant with our hearts like we always do.

Were there any Latino fighters that you looked up to as you were growing up?

Tito Ortiz was a guy that was Latino, a Mexican American who has my same roots. I grew up in Santa Ana, California, the same area he is from. We both wrestled in high school. He is a guy I looked up to who could scrap because of wrestling and could throw hooks because he is from the area. Sometimes you get in fights. He is a guy I looked up to and still look up to. I think he annoys some MMA fighters, but I am from the same neighborhood, I am the same style as him. Tito was someone that I could look up to that was Latino.

HP Pavilion has been your home arena for many years while fighting for Strikeforce. Can you talk about the great atmosphere in that venue and how the home field advantage will benefit you as you fight there for the UFC Lightweight title?

It’s Amazing.  I love fighting in HP Pavilion. It is basically my home turf now. Fought there plenty of times.  It is exciting to get the title fight on Fox and its in my backyard. I think it is going to be great. The UFC Octagon is unfamiliar, the whole UFC production is a bit unfamiliar, but one thing that will be familiar is HP Pavilion, my crowd cheering for me and the locker rooms and the walkout songs are all going to be familiar so it’s going to play a big advantage.Usually when you fight in another city like Las Vegas, fighters usually stay at a hotel. 

Since the fight is in San Jose will you stay at home and go through your regular routine or at a hotel to get away from distractions?

I will probably transition the last couple of day to San Jose just because the UFC has me doing a lot of media stuff. If the fight was in San Francisco or a little bit closer of a commute I would come back and if it an available option, I would definitely come back. I have a hotel right now for the last couple of weeks for me to jump back and forth to, but I really miss my family, my daughter and my fiancée. They are actually good for me. My fiancée cooks for me, helps take care of me and is my friend so I miss out. I do like to come home. I do feel comfortable and it is a good place for me to be. I go back and forth with it. If it doesn’t really interfere too much I will come ho if me for sure. I would like to sleep in my bed the night before the fight if it makes sense for me.

The Caesar Gracie team has come up short in several UFC title fights in recent memories (Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit, Nate Diaz vs Ben Henderson, Jake Shields vs GSP). Does that add any extra pressure on you and can you elaborate on how important it is for you to be the one who finally brings the UFC title back to the Caesar Gracie Team?

I would love to be the person that brings the title back to the Caesar Gracie Team. All of my friends have done a great job getting there. It is just amazing that my teammates have made it there. Now, I can say I am the same with them. Yeah, there is pressure for that, to be the guy to do it. It has been brought to my attention that we are 0 for 5 in title fights. I take my job seriously, but I am just to go out there and do my thing, win or lose I know I have my girl who loves me, my family who loves me, and my team who loves me and is loyal to me. So I don’t feel too much pressure for that kind of stuff, to deliver for them. I just need to do my best and delivery for myself.

Your Caesar Gracie teammate Nate Diaz fought Ben Henderson for the UFC Lightweight title this past December. How much has the experience of training and game planning with Nate for that fight and watching his performance in that fight helped you in your training and preparation for Henderson?

Of course it helped me prepare. Nate did catch a nasty punch, which was a legitimate punch, by Ben Henderson at the end of the first round and I could tell a noticeable change in the fight for the way Nate was fighting. Nate was fighting with one eye and wasn’t really excelling. I was able to pick up a lot. Nate was able to give me a judgment of Benson strength. I was able to see him there in person. 7:20

Vice versa, you are very familiar with Nate Diaz’s opponent Josh Thomson. What advice and insight have you given to Nate on Thomson who you have fought three times while in Strikeforce?

Nate has helped me prepare for Thomson all 3 times as well. He knows Josh just as well me. Nate and are different styles, but I think some things are going to work better for Nate and I think it is a great matchup for Nate. Thomson is a tough guy and he is definitely going to be ready. I am doing all I can. Nate sometimes loses the scorecard but most of the time wins the fight.

In addition to your regular training partners, the Diaz Brothers and Jake Shields, who else have you brought in for your training camp to help prepare for this fight and what was the thought process behind bringing in each of these training partners?

Kron Gracie is the biggest guy I have brought up and he is coming back in. Kron is just an amazing grappler, leads with his right leg and has a similar style to Benson when it comes to his grappling. He is straight up the best grappler in the world. It doesn’t get better than that. I like to scrap and get in these crazy positions like the guillotine that Benson is really good at. I like to give Kron my back and try to battle out. There are a lot of things that he works well at.

I am also bringing in Daniel Roberts in. I have a lot of guys that are already great strikers. I have guys that I think are better strikers than Benson. The thing about Benson he is not the world’s best striker, the world’s best wrestler, the world’s best grappler, he is a real mixed martial artist. He can put all his techniques together. His striking is better because he fakes the shot first. He is mixed martial artist and so am I. I am the same way. I have plenty of good strikers already and plenty of good wrestlers, but I am bringing in Daniel Roberts who is an old scrap pack member who is in Tulsa right now and he is coming back in. He is a guy who is a MMA fighter. He can kick, shoot and do athletic stuff like Ben.

You are currently the number 1 contender and Nate Diaz is ranked 4^th. Both of you are in your prime and one of you could be holding the title in the near future. Can you ever envision a scenario where you would fight Nate and what are the protocols that the Caesar Gracie team has in place in regards to teammates fighting?

Protocol is loyalty before loyalty any day of the week. That is my buddy and I don’t need to fight him. If somebody offered me $3 million to fight Nate and $2 million to fight someone else, I would rather take the pay cut. But Nate’s my boy and we train together. That is not how we roll. We are a different kind of team. We are grassroots together. It is different. I can understand why some teammates fight each other because they are a different kind of team, but for us that is not how we work.

The UFC purchased Strikeforce in March 2011 and moved many of the top fighters in Strikeforce including Nick Diaz, Alistar Overeem, Dan Henderson, and Cung Le over to the UFC. However, due to the Zuffa and Showtime dealings, you weren’t able to move over. How frustrating was that experience for you and how satisfying is it for you to finally make your debut in the UFC on the UFC on Fox card at HP Pavilion?

When you put that way, it is worth it at the end of the day. Immediately it was a bit frustrating seeing my boy go over there and me having to sit back. But I am also an employee. I am a team player and if I needed to stay back for Zuffa and that what I have to do then I would do. Hopefully it would be for the better for my career. I want to have a long career in this business inside the cage and outside the cage so I felt like I was taking one for the team and hoping it wouldn’t last forever. It started lasting forever and I started thinking that maybe I would be in Strikeforce the rest of my life. Then all of sudden things switched and then I got so excited. Then I out my next fight is going to be in the UFC, then I find out my next fight is for the UFC title. Then I find out my fight is going to be in HP Pavilion. Then I find it is going to be on Fox. This is something I have waited for a long time, I have been ready for it for a long time and it is finally here. It has been a roller coaster ride, but it is great to be at this point right now.

You have not fought in nearly a year due to the Strikeforce schedule and injuries. How have you dealt with the time between fights and how have you grown as a fighter and a person during your time off?

I run my gym with my fiancée. I train people I am in there training. Yeah, I was injured. I am not supposed to be sparring with one arm, but I am in there sparring with one arm. I am drilling with one arm. I am still working. The doctors said stay off the mat. You don’t want to be post pictures because people will say “oh you can fight.” The truth is I am going to train with one arm. I don’t care. I have gotten better. I have had a lot of time to lift weights. I feel like I have put on a lot of muscle and gotten really durable knowing I have to fight Benson. I have been able to work on lot on my game plan. I feel like I have used my time wisely to evolve and get back to where I need to be.

You have headlined many big fights, fought on national TV several times, and are used to the spotlight and attention. The UFC on Fox Card on April 20^th brings along more media attention and obligations. How have you dealt with or plan on dealing with the extra attention and media obligations during your training camp leading up to the fight?

The main thing with this training camp is I have been doing two workouts a day and I have been able to wake up earlier and divide them up a little better. Sometimes I would start them a bit later 12 pm or 1 pm and then come back and train at 7 or 7:30 PM and it just wasn’t enough time to rest. Now I am training at 10 AM or 10:30 AM and sometimes I start at 9 AM, 11 AM at the latest. This allows me to have a lot more recovery time and to get some other stuff done. It maximizes my rest time and with that rest I am able to get more of these interviews done. Rest is so important and I felt like I have been able to get a lot of that which helps me train harder.

Why do you believe you are the man to dethrone Ben Henderson at on UFC on Fox on April 20th?

I feel like I have been the man to hold that UFC title for the last 4 years. I just so happened to be in Strikeforce and Ben Henderson so happened to be the UFC champ right now. I feel like I have what it take to beat him. I feel like I am a warrior. I feel like I am a fighter who has become an athlete. I feel like he is an athlete who is starting to become a fighter. I feel like I want this so bad. I feel like I have prepared all my life for this moment. I am definitely coming for that belt. I think I have got what it takes. My hands, my fists got what it takes to put this guy away.