At UFC on Fox 20 in Chicago, No. 6 lightweight Edson Barboza (18-4) took a unanimous decision over former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez (22-6). Barboza's vicious kicks to the legs and body punctuated the co-main event and left Melendez bruised and limping. While Melendez landed several solid punches that briefly slowed his opponent, Barboza decisively dominated each round.
Scariest kicks in the business @EdsonBarbozaJR #UFCChicago https://t.co/3Gzk5wEFR7
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) July 24, 2016
Barboza opened the fight with leg kicks and Melendez countered with head strikes. Barboza, who recently moved to New Jersey to train full time, looked fast, precise, and intelligent in the cage. He also used uppercuts and left hooks to great effect; as the fight wore on, Melendez engaged less and less frequently.
Barboza keeping the leg kicks coming, and that alone could nullify much of Gil's late offense. #UFCChicago
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) July 24, 2016
Melendez was stepping forward with all of his weight on his lead leg when those landed. There is no more painful and damaging low kick.
— Dallas Winston (@UncleJustice) July 24, 2016
In the second round, the accumulation of leg kicks caught up to Melendez. After one dropped him, he stood up and was almost dropped again by one. He managed to stay on his feet, however, but didn't recover any advantages. Barboza tripped Melendez by catching a kick and landed in Melendez's closed guard, where he ground-and-pounded Melendez until the bell.
Melendez's left leg and torso showed plenty of angry bruises when the third round opened. Barboza was less active in the final round, maintaining distance while not going for a finish. He punished Melendez every time he tried to come in with leg kicks and head strikes, causing him to retreat without accomplishing any real damage. A brief exchange in the last 30 seconds proved somewhat successful for Melendez, but it wasn't enough to take the round, let alone the fight.
Must be said, Barboza got cracked and hurt, but he's responding much better to getting hit than he ever has. Big big improvement there.
— Mookie Alexander (@mookiealexander) July 24, 2016
Melendez, while unranked, was still an important victory for Barboza. Beating a former champion, paired with his recent victory over Anthony Pettis—another former champion—helps allay his losses to Tony Ferguson and Michael Johnson. With two of the four fighters he's lost to ranked higher than him—Ferguson and Donald Cerrone—a rematch with Ferguson could be a title eliminator; Cerrone has since moved to welterweight for the time being. Another matchup could be recently dethroned champion Rafael Dos Anjos, if Barboza wanted to go on an ex-champions tour. Or Barboza could possibly even face No. 1-ranked, unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov, who returned in April after nearly two years off.
Melendez's record in the UFC is now 1-4. With his Strikeforce glory worn off and his difficulty in recovering it, he still has some name recognition and will probably be given at least another shot or two at a comeback. Typically, fighters with three consecutive losses are at a high risk of being cut, but Melendez's long history in the sport and his overall competency should be enough to keep him around a little while longer, even if as a gatekeeper.
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