The demise of Strikeforce is rapidly approaching, and although Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez is known for his work ethic and toughness, a shoulder injury will keep him out of the final Strikeforce event ever on January 12th, 2013. With the close of Strikeforce, one could naturally assume El Nino will be heading over to the deep UFC lightweight division to fight for Ben Henderson’s title or at least against a contender that would set up the winner for a shot at UFC gold. We threw assumptions out the window and sent our correspondent Michael Mardones to ask Gibert what his plan for the future was and what Gilbert’s thoughts were on his teammate Nate Diaz’s title fight on FOX. In the usual Melendez fashion, his thoughts on the UFC gold are consistent with what he’s voiced for years: anytime, anywhere. Oh yeah, he talks about this, too.
