Record: 19 - 2
Height: 5'9" (176cm)
Weight: 155 lbs
Age: 31
Camp: Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy
Gilbert Melendez Tweets

Gilbert Melendez (born April 12, 1982) is a Mexican-American professional mixed martial arts fighter from Santa Ana, CA. Currently fighting out of San Francisco, CA he formerly competed in the lightweight division of Pride Fighting Championships and now competes in Strikeforce.

He has trained extensively with Jake Shields, Cesar Gracie, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz and Dave Terrell. He has a record of 14-2. He defeated Clay Guida to become the Strikeforce Lightweight Champion. Melendez holds victories over legendary Japanese fighters Rumina Sato and Tatsuya Kawajiri. Melendez suffered his first professional loss at Yarennoka!, losing to Mitsuhiro Ishida via unanimous decision.

On June 27, 2008, he lost his Strikeforce Lightweight title against by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) to Josh Thomson at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson.  A rematch was scheduled but Thomson's health kept him from defending.  Melendez went on to defeat Rodrigo Damm for an interim title and later unified the belts with a convincing unanimous decision victory over Thomson.