Melendez

By FCF Staff

Gilbert Melendez may have had two memorable performances in his first UFC campaign, but according to a new report, contract negotiations between the lightweight and the promotion aren’t going well.

The 31 year-old fighter, who is coming off a thrilling win over Diego Sanchez and a tightly contested loss to former champ Benson Henderson, is currently ranked #2 in the UFC.

Here’s what “UFC Tonight’s” Ariel Helwani relayed about how negotiations between “El Nino’s” camp and the UFC are going (quote via FOX Sports 1):

“It’s not looking good. I spoke to UFC President Dana White yesterday. He said, ‘I’m done with Gilbert. I like Gilbert very much, but I don’t like his manager.’ He has the same manager as GSP. Dana said: ‘Being GSP’s best friend doesn’t make you a good manager.’ Dana said if Gilbert wants to fight in the UFC, he should call Lorenzo quickly and he also should start looking elsewhere.”

The only men to defeat Melendez (22-3) in his last ten bouts are the aforementioned Henderson and Josh Thomson.