Name Brandon Melendez
Nickname The Murderer
Association Elite Performance
Weight Class Welterweight (170 lbs.)
Height 5′ 10″ (178 cm)
Style Submission Grappling
Birth Date March 24, 1983
Fighting Out Of Bountiful, Utah
Country USA
Brandon Melendez Pictures Official Website

”’Brandon “The Murderer” Melendez”’ is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a Welterweight. Though primarily a Welterweight, Melendez was a Lightweight contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5. He is a long-time training partner of Jeremy Horn at Utah’s Elite Performance.

Melendez is a former SportFight Welterweight Champion, defeating Brad Blackburn for the title, and losing it in his first title defense against another future UFC competitor, Chris Wilson.

== Professional Record ==

Record 25 – 17 – 0 (Win â€Â“ Loss â€Â“ Draw)
Wins 11 (T)KOs
11 Submissions
3 Decisions
Losses 4 (T)KOs
11 Submissions
0 Decisions
2 Other
Result Opponent Method Event Title Date Round Time Notes
Win Tallon Torres Submission (Armbar) ZarMMA: Fight Night 11/12/2010 1 3:14
Loss Jordan Smith Submission (Guillotine Choke) WCFC: World Championship Full Contact 6/05/2010 1 3:23
Win J.T. Taylor TKO (Punches) Showdown Fights: Burkman vs Paul 4/09/2010 2 3:31
Loss Josh Burkman KO (Punch) Throwdown Showdown 5: Homecoming 11/20/2009 1 4:14
Win Ty Hamblin Submission (Triangle Choke) IFL: Rage in the Cage 8/18/2009 1 1:45
Win Chris Kennedy Decision (Unanimous) Jeremy Horn’s Elite Fight Night: Jeremy Horn’s Elite Fight Night 8 5/01/2009 3 5:00
Loss Rick Story Submission (Rear Naked Choke) EWC: Elite Warriors Championship 9/06/2008 1 2:17 For EWC Welterweight Championship
Loss Alonzo Martinez Submission (Guillotine Choke) VFC 24: Revolution 7/26/2008 2 N/A
Win Gideon Ray Submission (Rear Naked Choke) WC 4: Warriors Collide 4 7/19/2008 1 3:23
Loss Tim Stout TKO (Punches) WC 3: Warriors Collide 3 5/16/2008 1 0:42
Loss Joe Lauzon Submission (Triangle Choke) The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale 6/23/2007 2 2:09 Lightweight (155 lbs.)
Win Justin Wright Submission (Triangle Choke) UCE: Round 23 – Finals 11/18/2006 2 2:13
Win Jeremy Elishius Submission (Armbar) UCE: Round 22 – Finals 9/09/2006 1 1:08
Win John Cronk TKO (Corner Stoppage) KC 28: Knock Out 8/19/2006 2 5:00
Win Ray Perales Submission (Armbar) UCE: Round 22 – Episode 4 8/12/2006 2 2:11
Win Tim Wild Submission (Armbar) Xtreme: MMA 4 8/11/2006 1 0:45
Win Gabriel Miranda KO (Punch) SF 16: Clash at the Casino 6/24/2006 1 2:12
Loss Derek Downey Submission (Rear Naked Choke) UCE: Round 21 – Finals 6/17/2006 1 1:50
Win Kyacey Uscola TKO (Punches) UCE: Round 20 – Episode 8 4/22/2006 1 0:11
Loss Pat Healy Submission (Rear Naked Choke) SF 15: Tribute 4/08/2006 2 2:56
Loss Eric Heinz Submission (Guillotine Choke) WFC: Final Countdown 3/18/2006 1 2:20
Win Ben Fuimaono Submission (Armbar) UCE: Round 19 – Finals 2/18/2006 1 2:34
Win Ben Fuimaono Submission (Armbar) UCE: Round 19 – Episode 2 1/14/2006 1 2:42
Loss Blas Avena Submission (Guillotine Choke) UCE: Round 16 – Finals 8/27/2005 2 N/A
Loss Drew Fickett Submission (Rear Naked Choke) ROF 17: Unstoppable 6/18/2005 1 2:27
Loss Chris Wilson KO (Punch) SF 10: Mayhem 5/28/2005 1 2:30 Lost SportFight Welterweight Champion
Win Travis Doerge Submission (Verbal) XFC: Dome of Destruction 1 4/29/2005 1 2:33
Win Shaun Beckett KO IFC: Eve of Destruction 3/05/2005 1 0:57
Win Brad Blackburn Decision (Unanimous) SF 8: Justice 1/08/2005 3 5:00 Won SportFight Welterweight Championship (Vacant)
Win Justin Wright TKO UCE: Brawls of Fall 2 – Finals 11/27/2004 1 0:40
Loss Justin Wright DQ (Illegal Strikes) UCE: Round 11 – Finals 9/11/2004 1 N/A
Win Steve Sharp TKO UCE: Summer Slam 2 – Finals 7/10/2004 3 0:38
Win Ray Perales Submission (Neck Crank) SF 4: Fight for Freedom 6/26/2004 2 N/A
Loss Carlos Condit Submission (Triangle Choke) ROF 12: Nemesis 5/22/2004 1 0:50
Win Tim Croft TKO (Punches) CFC 1: Cage Fighting Championship 1 5/01/2004 1 2:29
Win John Paulson Decision (Unanimous) SF 2: On the Move 3/19/2004 3 5:00
Loss Derek Downey TKO (Strikes) RMR: Rocky Mountain Rumble 9/20/2003 1 N/A
Loss Hank Weiss N/A Utah County: Main Event FC 7/19/2003 N/A N/A
Win John Sanders TKO SO: Showdown in the Octagon 1/25/2003 N/A N/A
Loss Hank Weiss Submission UCE: Round 1 – Finals 1/03/2003 N/A N/A
Win Chris Rossiter KO UCE: Round 1 – Episode 3 12/14/2002 1 0:17
Win Ethan Warren TKO UCE: Round 1 – Episode 2 12/07/2002 1 N/A

== Mixed Martial Arts Career ==
Melendez started competing as a grappler at the age of 18, and became a finalist at an eight man grappling competition with no Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training whatsoever. From that day forward, Melendez devoted his time to training in mixed martial arts, eventually receiving instruction from Jeremy Horn at Elite Performance in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Melendez began competing professionally in mixed martial arts in 2002.

He won the vacant SportFight Welterweight Championship by defeating Brad Blackburn by Decision (Unanimous). After winning two fights in impressive fashion in the first round outside of the promotion, Melendez faced Chris Wilson in his first title defense. Wilson took the belt away from Melendez, ending the fight in the first round by KO (Punch).

=== The Ultimate Fighter ===
Brandon Melendez was a Lightweight contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5, where he was coached by former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver.

In episode 4, Melendez was announced to face off against Andy Wang, who was known for his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills, yet in the fight decided to stay on his feet and strike with Melendez. Wang was dominated in the stand-up game, but Melendez won the bout by Decision (Unanimous). Wang went on to cry after the bout for letting down his teammates.

Melendez was then scheduled to face off against Gray Maynard in the quarter-finals. In preparing for the bout, Melendez felt that his coach, Jens Pulver, was over-training him and he confronted him on the issue. Melendez felt so strongly that he later approaches Pulver about training with Team Penn instead. After talking it over with Pulver, they resolved their issues and Melendez remained with Team Pulver.

In an interesting turn of events, it was Andy Wang who was personally involved in helping Melendez make weight for the bout, which he barely did, as he usually competes as a Welterweight. He barely made weight, but in the second round of his bout with Gray Maynard, he was submitted by Guillotine Choke.

Melendez was given a shot to compete for the UFC on June 23, 2007 at The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale, where he faced former castmate Joe Lauzon, who had fought for B.J. Penn while on the show. Lauzon went on to submit Melendez with a Triangle Choke in the second round, and Melendez was subsequently released from the promotion.

=== Post-UFC ===
After losing to Joe Lauzon at the finale, Melendez’s management team sent word that Melendez had asked for and been granted his release from the UFC in order for Melendez to pursue other opportunities and maintain a more active schedule when it comes to fighting.

His first fight after being released form his contractual obligations was a loss to Tim Stout by TKO (Punches). He bounced back with a win over UFC veteran Gideon Ray, by way of Rear Naked Choke. He then lost two fights in a row, the first to Alonzo Martinez and the second to Rick Story for the EWC Welterweight title.

At the time, Melendez, since leaving the UFC, was 1-3, but he bounced back with two consecutive wins in 2009, against Chris Kennedy by Decision (Unanimous) and Ty Hamblin by way of Triangle Choke in an IFL event. In his next fight, he faced off against long-time UFC veteran Josh Burkman, who had just been released from his contractual obligations due to three consecutive losses at a Throwdown Showdown event. Burkman ended his three-fight slide, while ending Melendez’s two-fight win streak at the end of the first round by way of KO (Punch).

In need of a win, Melendez returned to action on April 9, 2010 at Showdown Fights: Burkman vs Paul, an event headlined by the last man to hand him a loss, Josh Burkman. Melendez faced off against journeyman fighter J.T. Taylor, who competed in a few of the earlier World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) events, before the promotion was bought out by Zuffa. Melendez returned to the win column by way of TKO (Punches) in the second round.

== Personal Life ==
He and his wife, Monika, have two children, Alycia and Malakhai.