Why UFC 166's Gilbert Melendez finally watched video of controversial title loss

(This story appears in today’s edition of USA TODAY.)

It took some time before Gilbert Melendez could bring himself to watch the video of his failed attempt to capture the UFC’s lightweight title.

It was painful enough when he lived it. After five hard rounds against then-champion Benson Henderson in April, he stood in the cage after the final horn and felt sure he’d won.

Then Melendez heard the judges’ scores — two of three scored it 48-47 for Henderson, resulting in a split-decision loss — and his heart sank.

He wasn’t sure how he’d feel when he finally looked at the tape.

“I watched it mainly because I knew I was going to be asked about it in interviews,” Melendez (21-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) told USA TODAY Sports and MMAjunkie.com. “Once I started watching it, I watched it five or six times. I did still feel like I won the fight.”

So did many cageside observers and many of Melendez’s peers. Hearing that, he said, helped to take a bit of the sting off the loss. But it didn’t put a title belt around his waist.

“My life would be different if I’d won the title,” Melendez says. “But there’s not much you can do. I can be a crybaby and protest, but it’s not like they’re going to overturn it. Maybe I could’ve gotten an immediate rematch, but it was done. It was my opportunity, and all I could do was blame myself for letting it slip away.”

Melendez looks to rebound against veteran Diego Sanchez (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) on Saturday at UFC 166 at Houston’s Toyota Center (pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET).

It’s Melendez’s first fight since his tough loss. He was hailed as one of the best lightweights outside of the UFC when he was Strikeforce’s champion before the promotions merged in January. Now he has to live up to that reputation.

“I feel that pressure,” Melendez says. “I’ve got to win. You don’t want to lose two in a row because it can be three strikes and you’re out in this sport. But I feel like I’m going to be here for a while. I think I’ve arrived.”

Sanchez has had ups and downs, but his toughness and durability are not in doubt. Recent losses have revealed a blueprint for how to outpoint the difficult-to-finish fighter, Melendez says. All it takes is a willingness to hit and run and avoid the messier exchanges.

“But … that’s not my style,” Melendez says. “That means we’re probably going to bang it out.”

Dangerous? Sure. But if Melendez learned anything from his last fight, it’s that relying on judges is a great way to go home brokenhearted.

For more on UFC 166, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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