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According to MMA Fighting, Gilbert Melendez is going to remain with the UFC. Zuffa has elected to match the lucrative offer from rival promotion Bellator and the lightweight will be staying in the organization where he has competed twice since his move over from Strikeforce. Here's what they had to say about the newsufc:
Per the terms of the agreement, according to several sources, Melendez's deal guarantees that at least 75 percent of the 31-year-old's fights will be contested on pay-per-view moving forward. Additionally, income earned from Melendez's contracted pay-per-view points will kick in at a lower minimum buy rate than for any contract in UFC history, meaning Melendez will still earn pay-per-view point earnings on an event that performs poorly at the box office.
Melendez will also earn pay-per-view income regardless of his placement on an event, i.e., regardless of whether he fights in the main event, co-main event or main card.
In another major turn of events, the site is also reporting that Melendez will coach The Ultimate Fighter 20 against UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, and the two men will face off for the title in late 2014. This news was confirmed by the UFC with a tweet:
#TUF20 with @ShowtimePettis & @GilbertMelendez?! YES PLEASE! http://t.co/CDJ2Y5dZML pic.twitter.com/0rTds837J0
— UFC (@ufc) February 24, 2014
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney spoke to Fighting and said that he hadn't spoken to Gil's management yet, but had heard the news of the UFC matching. He also vowed to put the UFC in the same situation with more of their fighters in the future.
That's some pretty huge news in the aftermath of UFC 170.
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