Gilbert Melendez is expected to return to the Octagon for a featherweight fight against Arnold Allen at UFC 232 in Las Vegas on December 29th.
A former Strikeforce lightweight champion, Melendez has been of action since a decision loss to Jeremy Stephens in September of last year, which marked his fight loss in his past six fights.
That tough spell includes his current four-fight losing streak that also featured a submission loss to Anthony Pettis followed by decision losses to Eddie Alvarez and Edson Barboza.
To add to his woes, the 36-year-old was also suspended for a year back in 2015 after testing positive for testosterone metabolites.
As such, Melendez is putting a lot of pressure on himself heading into this fight, stating earlier this week that he needed to put on a good performance in his next Octagon outing and emerge victorious if he was going to continue his fighting career.
Now we know his opponent will be the 24-year-old Allen, who is on the rise in the UFC, racking up four wins in a row so far, defeating the likes of Mads Burnell and Makwan Amarkhani along the way.
In total the former Cage Warrior’s fighter holds and impressive 13-1 record and hasn’t tasted defeat in over four years.
Melendez Vs Allen joins an end-of-year UFC 232 event that will feature a women’s superfight between featherweight champion Cris ‘Cyborg’ and bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes.
