Gilbert Melendez isn’t committing to a decision regarding his fighting future at the moment.

Melendez last competed back in July. He dropped a unanimous decision to Arnold Allen on the UFC 239 card. The UFC ended up releasing Melendez, who went 1-6 during his time with the promotion.

“El Nino” said he has options but isn’t sure if he will keep fighting or hang up his gloves:

“I don’t know if I will ever fight again. I don’t know,” Melendez said. “It would have to be something that makes sense for me, it has to be fun, everything has to work out well but it’s fun to know that I’m free and I’m not locked down to anybody. If something really neat comes my way, I can jump all over it.

“I know myself. I love training. I love challenging myself. I may wake up tomorrow and create the right opportunity or I may wait for the right opportunity. I never really want to retire, I want to stay ready for the right opportunity. I always want to stay in shape, you never know what’s going to happen.”


Despite having just one win under the UFC banner, Melendez has his share of accolades in MMA. He was a two-time Strikeforce lightweight champion and held the WEC lightweight title. He successfully defended his Strikeforce gold five times. “El Nino” also competed in two UFC lightweight title bouts and snagged two “Fight of the Night” bonuses.