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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez has been out of action since May, recovering from injuries that took him out of his final two bookings in Strikeforce. The natural benefit of those injuries, though, is that his next fight will see him finally debut in the UFC.
Nothing is set for his debut as of yet, but UFC President Dana White said over the weekend that he had a preliminary conversation with Melendez, and they'll be conversing soon about what to do with Melendez's debut.
"I talked to [Melendez] tonight, and he and I are going to get together soon," White said on Saturday after UFC 155 (transcribed by MMAJunkie.com). "We're going to talk about his future in the UFC."
His future in the UFC could include a title fight in his debut, but there's one name who will be challenging him for that spot: Anthony Pettis. The former WEC Lightweight Champion fights Donald Cerrone next month, and with a win over current UFC Champ Ben Henderson already, may have the strongest case for a title fight with a win over Cerrone.
"Anthony Pettis, man, that guy's been through some s***," White said. "He really has, and this is a big fight for him. I don't want to go saying anything. We'll see."
Penick's Analysis: I'm fairly certain the UFC is putting Anthony Pettis in if he beats Donald Cerrone, and then Melendez will likely get one fight in and a title fight next. But if Cerrone pulls off the win against Pettis, that will open the door to Melendez getting an immediate title shot against Henderson. Cerrone's lost twice to Henderson already, after all. So it's all going to come down to the January 26 event and what happens between Pettis and Cerrone.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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