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.
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