Gilbert Melendez, AKA “El Nino”, is a professional fighter and former WEC Lightweight Champion, former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion, and currently under contract with The UFC. He was introduced to the sport after college when a good friend brought it to his attention. He instantly fell in love with the sport and realized he wanted to compete and make it his career. Naturally, over the course of his career, Gibert has taken more than a few knocks.
Over the course of Gilbert’s 17 year career as a professional fighter, he has picked up his fair share of nagging injuries. One of the injuries that Gilbert has been struggling with is a serious leg injury that he suffered in September of 2017 at UFC 215. During the fight against Jeremy Stephens, Gilbert received a series of devastating blows to his left leg that left him struggling to stand throughout the fight. The next day his leg was swollen up to the size of a balloon and seemed to be rather serious.
Doctors claimed that the injury would heal on its own, but the injury was so severe that it kept Gilbert sidelined for more than a year. His team believed that the bruises he received from the fight had calcified, or turned to bone. It was clear that the injury would not heal just from time and there would need to be more intervention.
Stem cell therapy was a treatment method that Gilbert and his team had looked into in the past to help treat his injuries. Gilbert and his team decided to head to Medellin, Colombia to the BioXcellerator stem cell clinic. His wife; Keri Melendez is actually a professional fighter for Bellator MMA as well. Keri not only accompanied Gilbert to BioXcellerator in Medellin, Colombia, she also received treatment for a multitude of injuries including spine & disc, orthopedic, and concussion symptoms.
Not only did Gilbert want to heal his leg, he also wanted to receive treatment for a variety of long term damage such as concussion symptoms, pain, his pectorial muscle, and more. The treatment he received was very intense as he noted on his Instagram and Twitter, however just as any fighter would, Gilbert fought through it and completed treatment with BioXcellerator like a true champion. The stem cells will make a huge difference in his recovery and help in the overall longevity of his MMA career going forward, more importantly, these cells will help give Gilbert a long term quality of life even after his fighting career comes to an end. The BioXcellerator team was more than happy to be a part of Gilbert’s recovery process.
Gilbert and his team are looking forward to seeing the results of the treatment over the next few months and has said “I still want to compete in MMA at the highest level and plan to keep fighting in the UFC for as long as I can”. There is no doubt that the stem cell therapy he received will help him reach all of his goals going forward thanks to the advanced treatment he received at BioXcellerator. Follow Gilbert Melendez on social media platforms as he plans to update his audience with the progress he experiences over the next few months.