Gilbert Melendez: Ben Henderson is an amazing fighter, but I can beat him

Gilbert Melendez is recovering from the injuries that kept him off of Strikeforce’s final card on January 12th, but when he returns, he has been rumored to receive an automatic title shot against Benson Henderson. Melendez appears in an interview with Middle Easy and states his view on Henderson, whom he thinks he can beat.

While Melendez has respect for Henderson’s game,he does carry a bit of a grudge towards the champ, as Henderson handily destroyed Melendez’s teammate Nate Diaz last month at UFC on Fox 5. He spoke up about it: 

“You’re hurt because your buddy lost, and I feel like Nate didn’t perform his best. He had some things going on. Benson did pop him in the eye. You want to whip the dudes ass, you want to beat him up. You want to avenge your team, avenge your homie, but much respect to the guy. Nothing personal, but you want a piece of him.”