Gilbert Melendez got talked out of quitting on the stool after gnarly leg injury

Gilbert Melendez got off to a bad start against Jeremy Stephens at UFC 215, which is another way of saying that after one round in the cage his left shin looked like it was ready to give birth.

This was appropriately concerning to referee Jerin Velel, who called time before the start of the second round so the cageside doctor could examine the damage done by Stephens’ low kicks in the opening frame (via Twitter):

Of course, that examination mostly consisted of the doctor asking Melendez if he felt capable of fighting. Not exactly what you’d call a thorough exam. Despite barely being able to stand on the leg, Melendez did just what you’d expect – he told the doc he was fine.

By the end of the second round, however, even Melendez was having second doubts. After dropping to his back several times following kicks to his badly swollen shin, Melendez confided in his corner that he might be ready to stop. That led to this exchange.

“I think I’m done, bro,” Melendez said before the final round, while one of cornermen applied an ice pack and another tried to talk him back into the fight.

“Hey, you’ve got five minutes,” one cornerman assured him, before shooing away the doctor. “… You can do any (expletive) thing for five minutes.”

And, as it turned out, Melendez could. He survived the final round, though you couldn’t exactly say he thrived, only to lose the unanimous decision in the end. Still, he did convince us all of his toughness. As if there was really any doubt after a career spanning nearly 15 years and just about every MMA promotion that matters.

For more on UFC 215, visit the UFC Events section of the site.

The Blue Corner is MMAjunkie‘s official blog and is edited by Mike Bohn.