Gilbert Melendez versus Shinya Aoki Preview

Two of the most talked about fighters in the lightweight division will meet inside the cage in April in a Strikeforce versus Dream title fight. Fighters.com second-ranked lightweight and Dream champion “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (19-4) will face off against Strikeforce lightweight champion “El Nino” Gilbert Melendez (17-2).

Shinya Aoki is a fighter many have wanted to see come to the states and fight for years now. He has been the talk of the town in Japan and finishes people seemingly at will with his super slick submissions. This fight is one that allow him to test the waters in the U.S. and see if those submissions will work against an amazing wrestler.

Aoki was last seen in a fight against Mizuto Hirota (10-3) in which he broke the arm of Hirota using a hammerlock. His list of fighters that he has beaten is impressive however he has a glaring weakness that could be exploited stateside.

Aoki is known for his jiu jitsu and it is very high level. However his striking leaves a lot to be desired and I wonder if his chin will be able to hold up if he continues with his quest to fight the best America has to offer.

Fifth-ranked lightweight “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (18-8) exploited that chin when they fought in the Dream 5 lightweight grand prix final in 2008. Granted Aoki did end up avenging that loss and won via armbar at the Dream 11 featherweight grand prix but none the less, Hellboy put him out could with strikes.

I have to wonder how well his submissions will work without the pants he typically wears even though Eddie Bravo believes they do not offer a big advantage in the submission game. As the fight wears on and Melendez gets sweaty I would think that the subs will be much harder to come by without the traction he gains from the pants.

He will also be here in  the states where the crowd is much different. Japan may have some of the most knowledgeable mixed martial arts (MMA) fans in the world but they are very quiet compared to the raucous crowds that attend events here in the states. I know he is an experienced fighter but will be quite the culture shock and could throw him off his game.

Gilbert is an interesting fight for Aoki when you look at his skill set. Melendez has a solid wrestling base that shows both good take-downs and take-down defense. We won’t see Aoki try and take him down unless it comes via him jumping guard but if he does I believe Gilbert will have the ability to get back up to his feet.

Standing is where Melendez will want to keep this fight as he is the much better striker. The improvement from Melendez since his losses to Mitsuhiro Ishida (19-5) and “The Punk” Josh Thomson (15-3-1) have been significant. After the Ishida he seemed to work more on his wrestling and his transitions. After the loss to Josh he worked his striking, specifically his counter-strikes and his ability to move in and out.

The work paid off as he has now avenged both of though losses en route to winning the Strikeforce lightweight title he puts on the line against Aoki.

Anyone looking at this fight has to believe that Gilbert will look to keep this fight standing and beat Aoki from the outside. Popping the jab, using good head movement and getting in and out with his punches.

This is a fight that will tell us just how good these two both are inside the cage. Gilbert is a fighter that has been discussed as being a top ten lightweight but given he is in Strikeforce and not fighting the best in the world it is hard to compare him. Aoki is a consensus top five who until this point has not faced a battle tested American fighter. One of these men will walk out of the cage crushed as MMA fans spout how they knew he was over-rated while the other fighter will walk out, head held high and instantly be talked about in the same breath as top-ranked UFC lightweight champion “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-5-1)