UFC 215 turned into a really rough night for Gilbert Melendez, who was making his featherweight debut following a surprising 4 fight losing skid at lightweight. Welcoming him to the division was Jeremy Stephens, who caught Melendez with multiple leg kicks that wrecked Gilbert’s shin and left him limping through the rest of the fight to a lopsided 30-26, 30-26, and 30-25 decision.
Attacking the leg early@LilHeathenMMA #UFC215 pic.twitter.com/SYqH8rr77e
— UFC (@ufc) September 10, 2017
His leg was so bad that coaches had to convince him to go back out for the third round, a dangerous proposition given how leg injuries can easily turn into knee injuries that leave you injured and sidelined for a year and a half. But according to Gilbert’s wife Keri, he made it through the fight without any permanent damage, which is pretty impressive considering the softball sized lump his leg had developed by the end of the fight. Here’s some photos of the damage from the day after the event:
Hey All. Everyone is asking about Gilbert's leg. Here is a pic today. He is doing A ok. Thank you to all for the support. We feel the love pic.twitter.com/VQpNj7JlTO
— KeriMelendez (@KeriMelendez415) September 11, 2017
@GilbertMelendez 's a soldier. He's gonna heal up quick. Thankful there is no knee damage. Again, we thank everyone for the messages ❤ pic.twitter.com/309nZAO6JL
— KeriMelendez (@KeriMelendez415) September 11, 2017
There was a silver lining to toughing it out and making it to the final bell: he impressed his boss Dana White and earned himself a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus from the UFC. Even though the loss to Stephens was his fifth in a row, we doubt his job is in jeopardy after he dug deep and fought through an injury that would have had most fighters tapping.
