. 
"Maybe training with Askren, Pettis has developed this but we never got to see it versus Bendo, "
We saw it in the first fight (where Bendo went 3 of 13 on takedowns, by the way). We didn't see it in the second because Bendo couldn't take him down.
orcus - "Maybe training with Askren, Pettis has developed this but we never got to see it versus Bendo, "
We saw it in the first fight (where Bendo went 3 of 13 on takedowns, by the way). We didn't see it in the second because Bendo couldn't take him down.
If Bendo had a low takedown percentage in the first fight and couldnt take him down (altough we will never know since it ended so quickly) in the 2nd fight yet Clay Guida took him down and grinded him inbetween those two fights, doesnt that tell you that maybe we shouldnt put so much emphasis on his wins over Bendo?
Styles do make fights and Melendez is a lot closer in style to Guida than Henderson
Vic Vinegar - I think Anthony Pettis has never seen Gil fight before. money is on showtime but Gil is impossible to put away.How many times had Benson been Finished before Pettis did it? Gil was almost ktfo by Diego Sanchez. How much better than Sanchez is Pettis?
"If Bendo had a low takedown percentage in the first fight and couldnt take him down (altough we will never know since it ended so quickly) in the 2nd fight yet Clay Guida took him down and grinded him inbetween those two fights, doesnt that tell you that maybe we shouldnt put so much emphasis on his wins over Bendo?"
No, it tells us that Clay is a single-minded smothering machine, and that Pettis may have had first-time UFC jitters. Guida was able to take down and keep down Pettis because that's ALL he wanted to do -- no striking, no submission attempts.
"Styles do make fights and Melendez is a lot closer in style to Guida than Henderson"
What are you smoking? I can't think of a single way in which Gil's style resembles Guida. Guida either wants to 1) dance around shadowboxing, or 2) clinch and smother. Gil has done essentially nothing but strike for the past several years, and he's very good at it. He is vastly closer to Bendo than Guida, which probably explains why his fight with Bendo was essentially a draw.
Seriously, how is Gil anything like Guida?
GSPsShadyHandWraps - "I guarantee you that Pettis is more than capable of finishing Gil, and I expect him to do so"
Pettis is a very talented striker but the last guy he fought with heavy hands was Jeremy Stephens and he barely squeaked out that win. Maybe he improved drastically after that fight but Cerrone and Bendo arent really known for their hands, they use a kick heavy game going up against the best kicker in the division
Not to mention, a key factor in Melendez last fights have been his opponents wrestling ability, mainly in terms of scrambling back to their feet. Maybe training with Askren, Pettis has developed this but we never got to see it versus Bendo, if he tries to play a guard game versus Melendez however, it could be a long night for him
If you rewatch the pettis/stephens fight, stephens was the one who didn't want to bang, he initiated the clinches and take downs because he know that his hands(heavy as they are) weren't enough for pettis' versatile striking ability, they fight ended up being very close because pettis flipped the script on Jeremy and decided to outwrestle him.. which actually impressed me seeing that pettis is a striker first and has grappling flaws in many people's eyes(not mine)
"Pettis may have had first-time UFC jitters."
How convenient. Or maybe Bendo is just a good style matchup for him.
"Gil has done essentially nothing but strike for the past several years, and he's very good at it."
You dont think the type of opponents he has been fighting had anything to do with it? Its not like he has turned into Crocop signaling to his opponents to get back up if they go down, he constantly goes for takedowns, they just so happen to be good wrestlers that scramble back up
"which probably explains why his fight with Bendo was essentially a draw."
What kind of logic is that? Frankie had very close fights with Bendo too, does that make him similar to him in style? Of course not
"Seriously, how is Gil anything like Guida?"
Look at how he fought Aoki. Bendo would never have fought that kind of controlling fight, he would have been a lot more reckless
Like i said. If Pettis cant scramble back up to his feet, then its not gonna like Pettis vs Bendo or Melendez vs Bendo, its a different fight
Is he planning on getting injured in the first? 
Gerkin - Is he planning on getting injured in the first?
If and when Pettis finishes the fight with Gil, you're gonna have to apply that same logic to Cain who will have been out longer (1 year, 5 months) before being able to fight again.
CurseoftheUFC -TwentyNineTwentyEight -I got Pettis. Seen Pettis and Gilbert at Dallashaws last fight and Pettis is actually pretty big. Dudes got a thick skull.
This fight will go 5 close rounds and will be one of the fights of the year.
I've met both as well, Pettis a few times. He's also a lot stronger than what he looks like. He's has a vice grip handshake. This fight alone is worth the PPV, IMO.
"How convenient. Or maybe Bendo is just a good style matchup for him. "
Yes, Bendo is a good matchup for Pettis but not, apparently, for anybody else in the world.
"he constantly goes for takedowns, they just so happen to be good wrestlers that scramble back up"
Diego is a good wrestler now? He hasn't been a good wrestler in years. And Pettis showed himself equal or superior to Bendo in wrestling in both their fights so I don't know why you think Bendo can scramble from under Gil but Pettis wouldn't be able to.
"What kind of logic is that? Frankie had very close fights with Bendo too, does that make him similar to him in style? Of course not"
The way logic works is that if two guys being similar results in a draw, that doesn't mean that a draw means the two guys must be similar.
"If Pettis cant scramble back up to his feet, then its not gonna like Pettis vs Bendo or Melendez vs Bendo, its a different fight"
Weird logic again. Obviously if (for some reason) Pettis can't scramble then it won't be like a fight with a fighter who did scramble. Also a different fight: Gil vs Bendo, whom he lost to, and Gil vs Pettis, who beat Bendo in all areas in their first fight and outclassed Bendo in all respects in the second.
Literally the only thing Gil is better at than Pettis is takedowns.
Too bad I already have the bet with Kneeblock on this fight!
GSPsShadyHandWraps -orcus - "Maybe training with Askren, Pettis has developed this but we never got to see it versus Bendo, "
We saw it in the first fight (where Bendo went 3 of 13 on takedowns, by the way). We didn't see it in the second because Bendo couldn't take him down.
If Bendo had a low takedown percentage in the first fight and couldnt take him down (altough we will never know since it ended so quickly) in the 2nd fight yet Clay Guida took him down and grinded him inbetween those two fights, doesnt that tell you that maybe we shouldnt put so much emphasis on his wins over Bendo?
Styles do make fights and Melendez is a lot closer in style to Guida than Henderson
If anything, I'd say that means we shouldn't put much emphasis on Pettis's loss to Guida, if you'd even call it a loss; I had him winning. Either way, do you truly believe a rematch with Guida would look at all similar? I wouldn't expect it to make it past the first round.
GSPsShadyHandWraps - "I guarantee you that Pettis is more than capable of finishing Gil, and I expect him to do so"
Pettis is a very talented striker but the last guy he fought with heavy hands was Jeremy Stephens and he barely squeaked out that win. Maybe he improved drastically after that fight but Cerrone and Bendo arent really known for their hands, they use a kick heavy game going up against the best kicker in the division
Not to mention, a key factor in Melendez last fights have been his opponents wrestling ability, mainly in terms of scrambling back to their feet. Maybe training with Askren, Pettis has developed this but we never got to see it versus Bendo, if he tries to play a guard game versus Melendez however, it could be a long night for him
We definitely saw Pettis' wrestling against Bendo. Bendo spent the first 3 and a hlf minutes trying to take Pettis down, but he couldn't. We didn't many scrambles becasue Bendo couldn't even get Pettis' to the ground. He only got there because of Pettis going for the cartwheel kick.
orcus - "How convenient. Or maybe Bendo is just a good style matchup for him. "
Yes, Bendo is a good matchup for Pettis but not, apparently, for anybody else in the world.
"he constantly goes for takedowns, they just so happen to be good wrestlers that scramble back up"
Diego is a good wrestler now? He hasn't been a good wrestler in years. And Pettis showed himself equal or superior to Bendo in wrestling in both their fights so I don't know why you think Bendo can scramble from under Gil but Pettis wouldn't be able to.
"What kind of logic is that? Frankie had very close fights with Bendo too, does that make him similar to him in style? Of course not"
The way logic works is that if two guys being similar results in a draw, that doesn't mean that a draw means the two guys must be similar.
"If Pettis cant scramble back up to his feet, then its not gonna like Pettis vs Bendo or Melendez vs Bendo, its a different fight"
Weird logic again. Obviously if (for some reason) Pettis can't scramble then it won't be like a fight with a fighter who did scramble. Also a different fight: Gil vs Bendo, whom he lost to, and Gil vs Pettis, who beat Bendo in all areas in their first fight and outclassed Bendo in all respects in the second.
Literally the only thing Gil is better at than Pettis is takedowns.
Too bad I already have the bet with Kneeblock on this fight!
Much sense is made here
Pettis' two losses to Bart & Clay were wins imo and is virtually undefeated.
Just like JBJ is supposed to be undefeated.
Gil has lost. Aldo was defeated no question.
It's been pointed out but if Pettis lets Gil take him down consistently then it will be a long night.
I'm hoping that doesn't happen (much).
Some dope MMAth in this thread.
Gil is next to impossible to finish. That's really all that matters on this goofyanalysis. Gil is definitely getting out of the first, there's no way he's going to maintain distance and eat kicks. He's going to keep getting inside and turning this into a dirty ass brawl
Put it this way: if you as an MMA viewer realize pettis' best path to victory is striking at range, so do girl's coaches. They're not going to play the game that most favors Pettis.
Mad Xyientist - Some dope MMAth in this thread.
Gil is next to impossible to finish. That's really all that matters on this goofyanalysis. Gil is definitely getting out of the first, there's no way he's going to maintain distance and eat kicks. He's going to keep getting inside and turning this into a dirty ass brawl
I don't buy into the notion that Melendez is nearly impossible to finish. He was in big trouble against Sanchez, who hasn't stopped a fight since 2008, and arguably hasn't even won since 2010. Against Pettis, he'll be facing one of the greatest finishers in MMA, the greatest finisher he's ever faced.