Brian Melancon (born May 28, 1982) is a retired American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who most recently competed in the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division. A professional competitor from 2009-2013, Melancon also formerly competed for

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

, Bellator, and Legacy FC.

Background

Born in Houston but raised in Groves, Tx. Melancon played baseball, competing at Port Neches-Groves High School. Melancon then attended

Lamar University Lamar University (Lamar or LU) is a public university in Beaumont, Texas. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the fall of 2021, t ...

and pursued a career in physical therapy, later earning a master's degree from the

University of Texas Medical Branch The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a public academic health science center in Galveston, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the oldest medical school in Texas, and has about 11,000 employees. In Febr ...

. At the age of 24, Melancon began training in

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

to keep himself in shape.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Melancon compiled a 5−1 record before signing with Strikeforce.

Strikeforce

Melancon made his promotional debut against

Isaac Vallie-Flagg Isaac Vallie-Flagg (born April 8, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist, who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2003, he has also formerly competed in Strikefor ...

at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum. He lost the fight via split decision. Melancon next faced Felipe Portela at Strikeforce Challengers: Larkin vs. Rossborough and won via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Melancon made his UFC debut by knocking out

Seth Baczynski Seth Baczynski (born October 26, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional since 2006, Baczynski has formerly competed for the UFC, and was a cast member ...

on July 6, 2013 at

UFC 162 ''UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman'' was a mixed martial arts event on July 6, 2013, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The main event was a UFC Middleweight Championship bout between long time title holder Anderson Silva a ...

at the end of the first round. Melancon faced

Kelvin Gastelum Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum has competed for the UFC since he won '' The Ul ...

on August 28, 2013 at

UFC Fight Night 27 ''UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 27'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 28, 2013, at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event was broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Backg ...

, replacing an injured

Paulo Thiago Paulo Thiago Alencar Antunes (; born January 25, 1981) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division of KSW. A professional competitor since 2005, he has also competed for the UFC and Jungle Figh ...

. He lost the fight via submission in the first round. Melancon was expected to face Robert Whittaker on December 7, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 33. However, Melancon pulled out of the bout and subsequently announced his retirement due to

renal The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; bloo ...

stress as a result of frequent weight cutting. Whittaker was subsequently removed from the card as well.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 7–3 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 ,

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 ,

, KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:59 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Felipe Portela , Decision (unanimous) , Strikeforce Challengers: Larkin vs. Rossborough , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–2 ,

, Decision (split) , Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Dallas, Texas, United States , Catchweight (175 lbs) bout. , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 ,

Derrick Krantz Derrick Krantz (born January 13, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, he has also compete ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Legacy FC 5 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Houston, Texas, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 ,

Todd Moore Todd Labanes Moore (born December 30, 1983) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2014, Moore fought in the WEC, Strikeforce, Titan FC, Legacy FC, and DREAM. Background Born and ra ...

, TKO (punches) , Legacy FC 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:00 , Houston, Texas, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 , Adam Schindler , Decision (unanimous) ,

Bellator 20 2010 in Bellator MMA was the second installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started on April 8, 2010 and ended June 24, 2010. Tournaments were held in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and m ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , San Antonio, Texas, United States , Catchweight (161 lbs) bout. , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jarrett Jones , TKO (punches) , Steele Cage MMA 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, n/a ,

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Kenneth Battle , Submission (punches) , Urban Rumble Championships 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:35 , Pasadena, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Adrian Barco , TKO (punches) , Urban Rumble Championships 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:35 , Pasadena, California, United States ,

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melancon, Brian 1982 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Texas American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Port Neches, Texas Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters