UFC
Dana White on Gilbert Melendez "testing the waters": "I thought this is what everybody wanted?"
Feb 20, 2014 - 10:25:46 PM Dana White on Gilbert Melendez "testing the waters": "I thought this is what everybody wanted?"

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"It's free trade. He's out there testing the waters, seeing what he's worth, and now it's like some big f***ing issue. 'He's the No. 1 guy and they're not going to sign him!' He's out there testing the waters, man, this is how this s*** works. Is it a bad thing? I thought this is what everybody wanted? ... Gilbert is out there testing the market. Good for him. I don't have any hard feelings towards Gilbert Melendez. Not a big fans of the guys I was dealing with, but this happens sometimes. So you know what happens? I don't deal with it."

-During a media scrum on Thursday, UFC President Dana White discussed Gilbert Melendez getting an offer from Bellator (transcribed by FoxSports.com).

Penick's Analysis: The issue with the Melendez situation isn't that he's testing the open market, it's that the UFC didn't lock up one of their top competitors before it got to that point. Now, if they match after seeing what the competition was willing to offer Melendez, then great. Melendez gets paid like he wants to be paid, and the UFC keeps a supreme talent in a division that needs legitimate challengers. If they don't, Melendez still gets paid, but he gets booked against an overall lesser level of competition on the whole. Melendez finding his worth is great, sure, but it does reflect poorly on the UFC if one of the better fighters on their roster isn't worth that to them.