After receiving the material terms of the contract offer that Gilbert Melendez agreed to with Bellator MMA, the UFC has decided to match the contract and Melendez will be a coach on The Ultimate Fighter 20 against Anthony Pettis.
The UFC made this announcement on late Sunday night following a report from MMA Fighting, which offered details of the Melendez offer.
According to the MMA Fighting report, Melendez’s contract guarantees that as least 75 percent of his fights will be on pay-per-view and he will receive pay-per-view points at a lower minimum buy rate than any other fighter in UFC history.
Melendez will begin filming “The Ultimate Fighter 20” in April, which will feature women strawweight fighters and the winner of the show will begin the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight champion. The show will premiere on September 10th on Fox Sports 1, and Melendez will face Pettis following the conclusion of the show.
Also, Melendez will have a guest appearance on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America, which is slated to premiere in the summer. The UFC will be announcing broadcast plans for this version of the international reality show in the coming weeks.