Gilbert Melendez On The Hard Truth Of What He’s Calling “The Fourth Quarter” Of His Career

Former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez has opened up about the status of his career.

Last Saturday, at UFC 215, Melendez made his featherweight debut in the UFC against Jeremy Stephens. Melendez showed a lot of heart and toughness throughout the fight, but in the end, he lost a unanimous decision.

After his most recent loss, Melendez is now on a four-fight losing streak in the UFC. Melendez recently did an interview with ESPN and talked about his future. He says he isn’t done fighting yet, but he knows he’s in the “fourth quarter” of his career.

“Even though I got my butt kicked and things went wrong, I feel like I’m on a high right now,” Melendez said. “I’m still on a high. It’s kind of hard to talk about and I think I will miss it one day. It’s hard to walk away when you still think, ‘I can do it.’

“I know there are people out there saying, ‘Hang it up, Gil.’ And there are people saying, ‘Don’t hang it up, Gil.’ As a fighter, you go back and forth. It’s like this girlfriend you love and you hate, you break up with and then say, ‘Sorry, I miss you babe, come back.’ It’s a real love, hate relationship and at times it’s also pretty addicting.

“I don’t like looking the way I did and if I do fight again and it doesn’t work out, it will probably be my last fight. If somehow I fight and I look great and I win, I’ll probably keep going. I definitely don’t want to look like this again. I know it’s the fourth quarter of my career and I know I have to think about my family’s future and my health.”