Efter senaste vinsten mot Jim Miller på UFC on Fox 3 är Nate Diaz bland de hetaste lättviktarna i diskussionerna om vem som kommer att få utmana om titeln i UFC. Men när man frågar honom vem som är världens bäste lättviktare kommer hans svar snabbt och enkelt. Det är träningskamraten Gilbert ”El Niño” Melendez.
”I’ve been training with Gilbert and Jake (Shields) for years. These guys are older than me, they’ve shown me a lot. I’ve followed their careers, these are guys I look up to. Me and Gil been battling it out in here for years. There’s no one better than him. These guys that are champion now, Ben Henderson is the champion, he’s done great too but he just got the title, he just won it. Gil’s been holding it down, fighting the top contenders, he’s been ready to fight for the UFC title too, forever. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s the best 155’er on the planet and I think he deserves to be right there in the UFC holding the UFC belt, but they got him locked down on that Strikeforce contract. People might not know but that’s the best guy in the world and he’s got the belt to prove it. He’s the man.”, säger Diaz till Sherdog.
Melendez är närmast inbokad att möta Josh Thomson för tredje gången på Strikeforce: Barnett vs Cormier den 19 maj.
