So yeah, Gilbert Melendez's leg was a mess the day after UFC 215

Gilbert Melendez’s legs got a rude welcome to the UFC featherweight division on Saturday at UFC 215. Check out the aftermath.

In the pay-per-view main-card opener at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, a durable and resilient Melendez (22-7 MMA, 1-5 UFC) dropped from lightweight to featherweight and survived three rounds of lower-limb battering from Jeremy Stephens (26-14 MMA, 13-13 UFC).

Ultimately, Melendez, who was often hobbled early in the fight, survived to the final bell and suffered a unanimous-decision defeat. But it was clearly Stephens’ night.

On Sunday, Melendez’s wife, kickboxer/MMA fighter Keri Anne Taylor-Melendez, posted a picture of her husband’s badly swollen left leg.

With a quick comparison to his right leg, the swelling is obvious (via Twitter):

“Hey All. Everyone is asking about Gilbert’s leg. Here is a pic today. He is doing A ok. Thank you to all for the support. We feel the love

Melendez, a former Strikeforce champion who joined the UFC in 2013, has fallen short in two UFC title shots. With the UFC 215 defeat, the 35-year-old is now in a 1-5 skid going back to his promotional-debut title loss to then-champ Benson Henderson.

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

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