Sometimes in mixed martial arts, certain moments in time are forgotten. The world of MMA will forever be evolving and unfortunately, fighters and certain fights disappear into the history books only to collect dust.
Nowadays, social media has become a vessel for instigating conflicts and it looks like a rivalry that seemed to be archived between Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson may have picked back up right where they left off, and a fight for a fourth time might be in the cards.
The first time Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson went to war was way back on June 27th, 2008. Strikeforce knew what they had, having these two top lightweights showcasing their talent not once but three times.
Sure, Melendez took the ultimate win by going 2-1 in the trilogy, but depending on who you ask the third fight was a controversial split decision and it just didn’t feel like there was closure.
Josh Thomson tossed a throwback photo of their trilogy to the social media masses and it was UFC welterweight Michael Chiesa who replied with “We need a 4th”.
Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson: A Rivalry Reborn
The conversation seemed to cool off until recently when Josh Thomson sparked the discussion once again with another post on X saying
“50-45 across the board #WorldChamp Run it back one more time?”
Thomson even used the discussion to reach out to Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz to inquire if they needed a co-main event on the Masvidal vs. Diaz 2 fight card.
The trilogy is up there as one of the best in MMA and if you were lucky enough to witness any of the three fights between Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez, you know how exciting a fourth would be.
The hard sell for this fight will be to an audience that has moved on from these two MMA relics. Even if it is time to leave the past in the past, you cannot tell these MMA warriors no. Fighting is in their DNA and who are we to judge if these fighters want to fight one last time? Sure, father time defeats all but the heart and determination to compete will never leave a fighter, no matter their age.
Fight fans, is this a fight to make? Let us know in the comments what your excitement level is for Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez 4.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
