Strikeforce at the HP Pavilion
San Jose Ca, June 28, 2008

The highly anticipated showdown between Josh “The Punk” Thomson (14-2) and Gilbert Melendez (14-2) ended with Thomson winning every round on all scorecards. Melendez,who is considered to be one of the best MMA fighters in the lightweight division, has never been shut out, proving that Josh Thomson is an elite world class fighter.

Thomson controlled the action from the opening round, dominating Melendez with his striking from the stand up position. As the fight continued Thomson would outwork the game Melendez, eventually taking him down muliple times in rout to victory. When the final round ended, the scorecards read 50-45 across the board.

“Gilbert is a great fighter and I have nothing but respect for him. He came out here and gave it his all. Today I was the better fighter. I trained extremely hard for this fight and nothing was going to stop me from winning this title.” said Thomson, “This fight had all the characteristics of an ultimate rematch. The fans deserve exciting fights and I would be more than happy to give Gilbert a rematch. If he beats me than we can talk trilogy, just like in boxing when Morales and Barrera went out it.”