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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
"He's just a super athlete, and I expected that. He had some great kicks, but I also expected that. And I expected him to bounce in and land some punches and I did my best to counter the punches and block the kicks and I never felt like I was in any danger. I never felt any anxiety or that he was running away with the fight or he was putting it on me. I learned a lot from the experience. I learned that next time I fight him, I'd do a lot of things differently in there.
I don't want to give up my game plan, but I've gained confidence in the wrestling and grappling department. I didn't think I shot too much. I didn't want to engage him on the ground. I felt like he might have an advantage there but I think I know now that I feel a little more confident in those positions… I don't want to get too in depth because I might fight the guy again, but I know exactly what I would do and how I would finish him. Not finish him, but to get my hands on him and fight him a little bit better. But at the time, I had my game plan, I stuck to it, and I thought it was enough."
-Gilbert Melendez talks to Knockout Radio about learning from his loss to Ben Henderson at UFC on Fox 7 and how he'll do things differently if he gets that fight again in the future (via Yahoo! Sports).
Penick's Analysis: Melendez is an intelligent fighter, and he's proven that he can learn from his mistakes in the past. That's evidenced by the way he avenged his two prior career losses, and if he were to fight Henderson again you would assuredly see a different fight out of Melendez. Now, the specifics on what he'd need to do are difficult to figure out, because Henderson's also capable of changing things up from fight to fight and finding new ways of doing things. Regardless, a rematch between the two down the line should provide for an exciting fight.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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