The BJ Penn Vs. Gilbert Melendez fight that never came to be is the hot hypothetical topic to everyone in the MMA world right now, but the MiddleEasy staff was discussing this (at one point very real) matchup in our super secret MiddleEasy email client half a year ago. Yeah, that's right: we have a super secret MiddleEasy email client in which we discuss super secret things. Things like Gilbert Melendez and BJ Penn scrapping for the Strikeforce lightweight title, space plans and why synthetic vitamins aren't good for you (don't eat synthetic vitamins).

You can ask Cat Von C: our super secret MiddleEasy email conversations would probably do triple the traffic of MiddleEasy.com, but a lot of that is due to the discussion of things that shall not be discussed publicly. To put it in wizard terms: MiddleEasy email = The Order of the Phoenix. Things talked about in said emails = Voldemort.

Many may think the two preceding paragraphs are meant to puff our feathers and display how cool we are. Not true. I guess what I'm trying to get to is this: we were bummed about this fight not happening months ago, and we wanted to share the pain with you - but we couldn't - so now we're kind of over it just as the general public is hearing about it...So yeah.

BJ Penn showed his apathy over the Gilbert Melendez situation in an appearance on The MMA Hour.

"I guess being a competitor, you always have that itch. But what it is is...it's tough," "The training camps are tough, going through that. I've been with the UFC for ten years going through different things. All the different personalities you gotta deal with. I still look at some of the guys up there and of course being a competitor 'You know, I could beat that guy or I could do well with that guy.' It's just a tough question."

"[White] offered a fight against Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce. We sat down and we thought about it for a little while. We talked back and forth. It was kind of one of those things where I guess at the end of the day we thought about it a thousand different ways and we were like 'Is that downgrading yourself fighting in Strikeforce? If you win the Strikeforce title are people going to say you did it because you couldn't win the UFC title?'" "At the end of the day, it just didn't make sense to us,"

Hopefully at the end of the day, BJ will decide to come back and make us happy while licking his opponent's blood of his gloves.

[Source]

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+5 # Guest 2012-05-08 14:59

Makes sense to me, today strikeforce is a joke of an organisation holding its fighters prisoners, b rate feeder league, Get Gil, Tim kennedy, and a few others the fuck out of there already.

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0 # Guest 2012-05-10 05:43

Quoting Nianthony Martinez:

Makes sense to me, today strikeforce is a joke of an organisation holding its fighters prisoners, b rate feeder league, Get Gil, Tim kennedy, and a few others the fuck out of there already.

Gil Melendez is a destroyer! The way he took Kawajiri out had me in awe. They can keep guys like Tyron Woodley there coz he's really good, but he's a 1-trick pony. It would also be a good feeder for someone like Ben Askren if he was to make it to the Zuffa fold. Let the guys round out their skills and then move to the UFC

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-1 # SenorStubbypants 2012-05-08 15:23

I look at it like Stephan Marbury. He was average the last few years in the NBA but went to China and is tearing it up. Does anyone look at him now and consider him an elite player?

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+7 # Guest 2012-05-08 15:36

Melendez choose to sign with Strikeforce rather than the ufc. Nobody to blame but himself.

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+5 # Sambro 2012-05-08 15:48

Send Faber, Koscheck, Fitch, and Florian down to SF too. They'll never win a UFC belt.

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0 # Fatty_Sam86 2012-05-08 16:48

That would be amazing. I dunno about Faber, but yeah the rest can take a hike.

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+2 # Sambro 2012-05-08 17:07

Faber already had 2 chances at the belt. Renan Barão is gonna destroy him anyway.

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+6 # Guest 2012-05-08 18:20

Well BJ never really said anything negative about Gil and it sounds like his only hesitation is with SF as an org, not Gil as a fighter.

Two things though: BJ would be a lot of guys in MMA, but not the top 5, and maybe not the top 10 in LW or WW, of which Gil is one (I think top 5), and second, when BJ asks if people would think winning the SF title (which isn't as foregone a conclusion as he makes it out to be) meant you couldn't win the UFC title he's right: he had his shot and he failed.

BJ's too weak mentally to ever be an elite fighter again. On the internet people still love him and will do what they can to defend him, but it's true. As is the fact that Gil would smash him.

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+2 # Tarantado 2012-05-09 01:00

True. Kinda of a lose-lose situation for him.

If he won against Gil, who would be next for him to fight? If he lost, that would be even worse. He'd be in the mix with guys like... Noons and Fancypants?

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+11 # Guest 2012-05-08 18:31

BJ Penn is the greatest laziest UFC champion to ever hold the belt. I am/was a BJ Penn supporter when he was fighting.

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+1 # Guest 2012-05-08 18:52

Bj is scared he gonna get ass whipped by melendez.

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+5 # Sherko 2012-05-09 00:33

Quote:

'If you win the Strikeforce title are people going to say you did it because you couldn't win the UFC title?'

This is what I hate so much about UFC matchmaking. The constant politics involved. Every match is made with the thought: "What would the dumb masses say?"

It's a damn shame, we could've seen a fight between arguably the best lightweights of all time, and we didn't get it because the UFC don't want the dumb masses to make any conclussions based on a single fight; which they love if it is aimed at non UFC fighters.

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-2 # Guest 2012-05-09 06:19

bj was scared homie.gil could k.o him cold or could put the worst beating of his life.(worse than nick)

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0 # FreeLeeMurray 2012-05-09 07:52

Gil would almost definitely lose to BJ. Stylistically they wouldn't be a good matchup for Gil. BJ has great boxing and takedown defense and BJJ, and Gil really only performs against mediocre fighters or guys with no takedown defense or standup ability that's worth talking about. Look who they've beaten over their careers... Gil's good but BJ is a legend for a reason, and if he got focused he could be champ again.

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+3 # Sambro 2012-05-09 09:16

BJ is a lazy quitter. He'll never get focused or win another belt. Gil would gas BJ in the 1st round.

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