Next for Ben Saunders: Saunders will face Bellator’s Welterweight Champion in a non-title bout before the year is through. They did it with Roger Huerta, they’ll do it with Ben Saunders. Saunders may or may not beat the Bellator champion, but he will certainly continue to make a name for himself in his new-found home. Consider Saunders a lock for the next Welterweight Tournament.

Next for Toby Imada: For better or for worse, Bellator will always be Toby Imada’s home. He’ll stay in Bellator for the foreseeable future, competing once or twice in non-tournament bouts and then again to qualify for the next Lightweight Tournament. Even though he failed to win it all again, Imada is still one of Bellator’s best and I think all parties involved know this.

Next for Patricky Freire: Freire will face the winner of the other semi-final Lightweight bout, Michael Chandler vs. Lloyd Woodard, in the finals. My prediction is that Freire goes all the way and wins this tournament, most likely by (T)KO in the first or second round. Freire has the experience and skill to remain calm, composed, and active while scouting and feeling his opponent out. And when the time comes to strike, Freire has the killer instinct necessary to possibly become champion.

Next for Rick Hawn: Hawn will battle it out with the winner of the upcoming Jay Hieron/Brent Weedman bout in the finals of Bellator’s Season 4 Welterweight Tournament. My money is on Hawn fighting Jay Hieron, and Hieron giving Hawn the toughest test of his career. Hawn has fought two hard encounters against increasingly difficult opponents, so if Hieron does make it through, I can’t say I’ll be siding with him to win this season’s tournament.

Next for Pat Curran: Curran may take a few fights here and there until the next Bellator tournament starts. I expect him to then fully jump back into the next Lightweight tournament and make it to the semi-final round at the very least. Curran showed a tremendous amount of heart and a not-insignificant amount of skill in his loss to Alvarez, so by no means have we seen the last of him.

Next for Eddie Alvarez: Alvarez will more than likely face Patricky Freire in his next fight in Bellator, but I think Alvarez won’t wait that long and will instead compete outside of Bellator for his next fight. I would love to see Alvarez finally fight Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez, but I just don’t see it happening. As crazy as 2011 has been so far, though, I won’t rule it out entirely. But I am pretty positive that Alvarez’s next fight will be overseas, more than likely in Japan.

And that’s what I think, fans and friends. But what about you? What do you see happening in the near and not-so-near future of the big winners and losers of Bellator 39?

Ryan Quinn defeats Mike Winters via unanimous decision. Dave Jansen defeats Scott McAfee via submission (Brabo choke) at 4:58 Round 1. Rene Nazare defeats Luiz Azevedo via TKO (wrist injury) at 5:00 Round 1. John McLaughlin defeats Blair Tugman via unanimous decision. Ben Saunders defeats Matt Lee by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 1:24 of Round 3. Patricky Freire defeats Toby Imada by TKO at 2:53 of Round 1. Rick Hawn defeats Lyman Good via Split Decision. Eddie Alvarez defeats Pat Curran via Unanimous Decision.

I was honestly very impressed by Matt Lee’s considerable heart and formidable chin, but I was definitely more impressed by Ben Saunders in his Bellator debut. Saunders sliced and diced his way to a dominating win, he threw vicious elbows, Muay Thai knees, uppercuts, and so much more. Towards the end of the fight, Lee was bleeding so badly it looked like someone had stabbed him in the face. I didn’t expect Lee to be nearly so tough, so I’ll give credit where credit is due for that. But I knew Ben Saunders would dominate and I’m pretty glad he did.

I felt a bit heartbroken when Toby Imada lost to Patricky Freire, but I really can’t argue against it. I never expected the feeling-out portion of this fight to end with a dramatic and perfectly-timed knee, but it did. Freire simply seized the biggest opportunity at the most opportune moment, and because of that, it’s third time and no charm for Toby Imada. Freire looked so impressive that I now consider him the forerunner to win Bellator’s latest Lightweight Tournament.

I honestly was shocked that one judge scored the Hawn/Good fight 30-27 for Rick Hawn… but I do agree that Hawn won the fight. Hawn still didn’t explore the full potential of his judo game, but his constantly-improving standup as well as the takedowns he did get were certainly good enough to win him this fight. It was very close and very competitive, but I’m glad that Hawn won.

In the main event, Eddie Alvarez put on a very convincing, very dominating show against Pat Curran. Curran had a whole lot of heart and some serious cardio, but Alvarez was just too good at too many things. From attacking at angles to his killer body punches, Eddie Alvarez once again proved that he’s the total package and the best fighter currently in Bellator.

Overall, I really enjoyed Bellator 39. Considering how Strikeforce’s recent “Challengers 15” event also was a good event, I think the competition to crown my next “dark horse favorite” promotion will last just a little longer. I know, I know, I’ve talked about this for a while. But it’s very difficult for me to pick a replacement to the WEC until a promotion consistently puts on under-rated shows that blow me away. Bellator 39 was definitely a good show, and I’m ready to follow them wholeheartedly. I’m actually very glad that Bellator and “Challengers” are in a near dead-heat in this little competition of mine. It’s a great time to be an MMA fan, and that above all else is what I took away from Bellator 39.

And what about you, fans and friends? What did you think of Bellator 39?

Curran, cousin to UFC and WEC veteran Jeff Curran, has been sidelined due to a shoulder injury since late last year, however Pat is now healthy and determined to become the promotion’s new 155-pound title holder. He will have a daunting task ahead of him as he meets with one of the division’s best in Alvarez.

MMAFighting.com were the first to report the new title fight, which is rumored to be taking place on April 2 as part of the season four series and will be broadcasted on MTV2.

Pat earned his shot at the title when he defeated a slew of opponents in the 155-pound field for season two, eventually meeting with season one finalist Toby Imada in the finals. In a contoversial decision, Pat walked away the winner via split-decision.

Since his time away from the cage, Alvarez has taken the opportunity to sit on the sidelines and tend to his family, however that didn’t stop the Philadelphia native in partaking in a highly anticipated bout with UFC veteran and fan-favorite, Roger Huerta.

“The Matador”, a former UFC lightweight contender, was outclassed from start to finish by the not-so-gun shy Alvarez, who used darting right hands to eventually cause several lacerations and a swollen left eye to Huerta, to close the show in the second-round of their non-title affair. The bout took place before Alvarez’ hometown in Philly last October where he has been inactive since. The world-ranked mixed martial artist is currently riding a six-fight win streak since a loss to Shinya Aoki in 2008.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the new match-up? Who do you favor, and who would you like to see the winner face in the upcoming season four series under the Bellator banner? Sound off in the comment section below.

5. A possible move up to 170 to take on someone like Paul Daley.

Melendez has expressed an interest in fighting at a higher weight class, specifically against Paul Daley, and I think this would be the natural thing to do if he keeps winning at Lightweight. Melendez has a lot of interesting possible challenges at Welterweight, not the least of which would be the actual jump in weight in and of itself, since Melendez has always been a smaller fighter. Whether it’s with or without the championship, a run at Welterweight is definitely an option for Melendez and would result in some tough, entertaining fights.

4. A fight with KJ Noons.

Even though he was unable to secure a second win over arch-rival Nick Diaz and claim the Strikeforce Welterweight Championship in the process, KJ Noons is still a feared striker and a big threat to most Strikeforce fighters. Noons has had the most success in his MMA career at Lightweight, so he’ll probably drop back down to 155 after taking time off to heal the injuries he sustained in his second scrap with Diaz. And Melendez will be waiting for him. Melendez/Noons would be an awesome fight between a very tough grappler with a very tough chin and a very hard striker that is a former champion at Lightweight.

3. A second fight with Tatsuya Kawajiri.

In regards to Melendez’s immediate future, Tatsuya Kawajiri finds himself on the short-list of possible opponents that both the fans and Strikeforce management want to see Melendez test himself against. “Crusher” has won five of his last six and most recently beaten Josh Thomson at the K-1/DREAM supershow “DYNAMITE!! 2010”. Kawajiri is a tough knockout artist and, like KJ Noons, poses a big threat to Melendez on the feet. It’s also been over four years since these two last fought, so it has the potential to be a radically different second encounter.

2. A third fight with Josh Thomson.

Many fans seem to think that it’s inevitable that these two will meet for a third and final time to finally prove which one is better. I wholeheartedly agree. I think these two have a great rivalry going: both are highly competitive and highly skilled, but both respect each other a lot. It’s a rivalry born not out of scorn, but out of the honest desire to see which man is the better fighter. The two previous times these two fought each other were both Fight of the Year candidates, so a third (and most likely final) showdown would be a pivotal moment in both their careers.

And finally, we have…

1. A  champion vs. champion showdown with Bellator FC’s Eddie Alvarez.

There have been on-again, off-again talks of putting together a super-fight between Gilbert Melendez and Eddie Alvarez, the current Bellator FC Lightweight Champion. The reason this fight hasn’t happened yet is subject to much debate, and things actually got a bit bitter between Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. This fight seems to have faded back into the background at the start of 2011, but make no mistake, it would be an amazing fight between two of the best Lightweights on the planet.

And what about you, fans and friends? Did Melendez make the right call in sticking with Strikeforce? What do you think the future holds for “El Nino”?

MMA Weekly recently confirmed it with Strikeforce officials: this bout will not be happening. Melendez famously beat Aoki at the April 2010 Strikeforce: “Nashville” event. In fact, Melendez outright dominated Aoki en route to capturing a Unanimous Decision win and retaining his Strikeforce Lightweight Championship. The international showdown between two of the best Lightweights in the world came about through Strikeforce’s partnership with the Japanese-based DREAM promotion.

Shinya Aoki has since fought three times (in his native Japan) since the crushing loss to Melendez, winning once by decision and twice by submission. DREAM itself has come under fire recently for not paying its fighters, and rumors of financial instability in its parent company abound. It was not confirmed that these rumors were the reason that the rematch in Japan was axed. In fact, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker recently commented that the DREAM/Strikeforce partnership was still intact, and that DREAM had paid all of the Strikeforce fighters that were “loaned” to the promotion.

I honestly can’t say that I’m sad that this match won’t be happening. In a previous article, I outright stated that I thought this match wouldn’t really prove anything. Then again, I also admitted that a rematch couldn’t hurt. In the end, I think it just hasn’t been long enough to justify a rematch.

I know I’ve been advocating for several immediate rematches recently, and I’m glad that this story popped up because I’m usually not in favor of immediate rematches. This fight in particular perfectly typifies my problem with immediate rematches. What has Aoki done to deserve an immediate rematch? He’s beaten three people, sure, but has he evolved in any way, shape, or form? If we get a rematch so soon after the first match, wouldn’t we just be getting the same Shinya Aoki versus the same Gilbert Melendez? Sure, it would be in Japan and Melendez would have to cope with some new rules, but does that make the fight interesting enough to justify having an immediate rematch?

I honestly don’t think it does. No matter the setting, Melendez’s dominant wrestling ability, striking skill, and submission defense are far too much for Aoki to handle as he is now. If Aoki had reinvented himself from the ground up following the loss to Melendez, maybe I’d have more sympathy towards those calling for an immediate rematch. But he’s still the same Aoki. He’s a great submission specialist, one of the absolute best, but he has some of the worst stand-up I’ve ever seen. It’s a tall order to fend off his submissions for three or even five straight rounds, but if Melendez did it before, he’d be able to do it again, especially if the fight took place in the same calendar year.

Let’s see a rematch a year from now, or even two years from now. There was no controversy, there were very few mitigating factors, Gilbert Melendez outright dominated Shinya Aoki and I highly doubt that would have changed if the fight took place in a ring instead of a cage. So I’m glad this fight won’t be seeing the light of day.

And what about you, fans and friends? What are your feelings on this match now officially being cancelled?

Here’s what Coker had to say over at MMA Weekly: “I’m not sure if that fight will happen… We sent K.J. (Noons) over there at the beginning of the year and he got paid in two weeks. When we sent Nick (Diaz), I think he got paid within a couple months. So they have been paying the athletes we have sent over, but I’ve been hearing a lot of the nightmares that you’re talking about… It’s something that we’ll be monitoring as we continue the fighter sharing.”

While I do think that it’s unfortunate that DREAM seems to find itself in an increasingly-worse situation, I have relatively little sympathy for promotions that refuse to pay their workers. I think DREAM has put together some good cards and started out with some great intentions, but when you lose the respect of the fans and the respect of the fighters, you may as well call it a day. And DREAM is quickly losing both with all these rumors about not paying their athletes.

I could not possibly stress enough how important it is to keep the good faith of your fighters. We can squabble and debate the merits of each fighter and their pay all we want, welcome to modern-day sports. But not paying them at all? Inexcusable. It’s a slap in the face to go out, do your job, and not see a penny for your hard work. I’m sure I’m not the only journalist/opinion columnist/whatever with friends in the industry (which is why I always take such a harsh stance whenever this topic pops up), but I’m also not afraid of calling promotions on this. So I’ll say it loud, proud, and again and again: pay your damn fighters.

In regards to Aoki vs. Melendez 2, I honestly have to ask: would this fight really prove anything? Melendez already owns a very convincing win over Aoki. And I know the common response deals with Aoki being inexperienced in the cage and how Melendez benefited from the home team advantage, but I honestly think that’s very unfair to Melendez. Gilbert’s win over Aoki was all skill, nothing should be taken away from that victory even if Aoki had trouble adapting to the cage. I think Gilbert’s skill would easily translate from the ring to the cage and we’d get another blowout performance.

But ultimately, I suppose a second match couldn’t hurt. Who knows, Aoki may even beat Melendez, evening up the score and setting up a possible third match. I have to admit, I’d be far more interested in a trilogy fight if Aoki won the second than I’m currently interested in the actual second fight between these two champions. If it happens I’d watch it, if Aoki wins I’d be shocked, if Melendez wins I’d shrug my shoulders and say “Good, now fight Alvarez already.” At this point I’d be more shocked if DREAM paid Melendez for beating Aoki again than if Melendez actually beat Aoki again.

And what about you, fans and friends? What do you think of DREAM’s rumors of financial instability, as well as the rumors of Melendez/Aoki 2?

I don’t think there was really any outcry for a Gilbert Melendez vs Eddie Alvarez fight to begin with, at least not until both champions of their respective organization’s went on a media frenzy calling out one another like kids before recess.

Would I like to see this fight? Absolutely. But, according Rebney, it looks like the possibility of a match up between these two stellar lightweights seems to be thinning as we speak. Bjorn, the Bellator owner and founder, has now responded in kind to Coker, the Strikeforce CEO, asking him to “Have (Gilbert Melendez) stop talking about the fight, so that Eddie can not have to respond to it and I don’t have to respond to it, or just sit down with me and let’s work it out”.

It was reported last week that Rebney had gone out of his way to get in touch with Coker. Even going as far as releasing photo’s of text messages he had sent directly to the Strikeforce head honcho. However, there has been some recent inquiry whether or not the number that Bjorn had been contacting was Scott’s current digits? Well, it’s not. But nonetheless, Coker has seen the reports, and suggests that he will not conduct business this way, not out in the open.

“There is no reason for this to be something taking place in the media,” Rebney said Wednesday during an interview on the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show.

“If Scott had just called me back and said, ‘Hey, dude, I’d love to work with you, but the Gilbert fight against Eddie is not one that makes sense for us,’ I never would have brought it up with the media. It’s just that to pretend to be engaged publicly and then not be responsive to my attempts to reach him for going on 90 days, I don’t think it’s fair or reasonable.”

I’ll give Bjorn the advantage here. He’s been the more vocal of the two sides in this heated debate. Rebney has stated on several occasions that he would not only allow his Bellator lightweight champion, Alvarez, to compete under the Strikeforce banner, that he would also allow him to compete on their terms. Meaning at the HP Pavillion in San Jose, California, which has been the organization’s staple home since it’s inception in 2006.

Meanwhile, Coker has been widely silent in attempts to put the gears in motion to make the bout come to fruition.

“The only reason I followed up so aggressively with Scott both publicly and privately on his own private phone was that it seemed to us, based on his responses, he wanted to make the fight happen,” said Rebney.

“I completely understand him not wanting to make the fight happen. Were the roles reversed, I probably wouldn’t want to make that fight happen either.

“That’s a fight we should make happen as mixed martial arts promoters. Take the CEO hat off and just be fans. That’s a fight that we should do.”

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the back and forth? Bjorn has been the more vocal of the two parties, where as Scott has been very idol in the negotiation process. Rather than besmirch Rebney for taking aggressive measures, why don’t you answer in kind? Take the necessary measure’s in order to move forward. It’s put up or shut up time my friends. Do you think the lightweight tilt will still come to fruition? Sound off in the comment section below.

Here’s the latest batch of quotes courtesy of an interview Coker recently did with MMA Weekly: “The reality is he doesn’t have my right number. The number that he’s texting is not the number I’m using… If you’re really looking to make something happen then he should sit down with me face to face. I feel like this whole texting thing, I feel like I was in high school again. It just seems childish to me… That’s not how we’re going to do business, I can tell you that. We don’t conduct business like that. We’re not going to be engaged in that kind of silliness.”

I have to admit, Rebney posting his texts to Coker online did seem very childish to me. Posting your texts online is something that a spurned lover does, not the head of a major MMA promotion. Then again, Coker basically forced Rebney’s hand. What other choice did Rebney have when Coker started denying the texts? It was his word against Coker’s, and in the end Rebney decided that acting childish wasn’t as bad as looking like a liar.

I do agree that these kinds of tactics are definitely detrimental to any sort of co-promotional agreement. There’s a point where an intense rivalry between two promoters stops being fun to watch and starts getting brutal. The Strikeforce/Bellator rivalry is quickly approaching that point. Instead of positioning themselves as a strategic ally, Bellator is beginning to look more and more like an enemy to Strikeforce. And that’s just not how co-promotion works.

If anything, the burden is on Bellator and not Strikeforce. Strikeforce has co-promoted with many organizations in the past: the now-defunct EliteXC, M-1 Global, and the Japanese-based DREAM. The San Diego-based promotion has a history of getting deals done with other promotions in the spirit of putting together the best fights possible. If Bjorn Rebney truly wants to see if his champions really are some of the top fighters in the world, perhaps it’s time to call a temporary truce. Despite all the publicity this is giving Bellator, at the end of the day nothing is solved and no matches are made when a promotional rivalry begins to spiral out of control.

And what about you, fans and friends? Did the whole texting fiasco finally push this rivalry past the breaking point? Is there still hope that we’ll get to see matches like Alvarez vs. Melendez?

But perhaps nobody personifies that notion more then the top-10 ranked lightweight, Eddie Alvarez.

After a fairytale run through DREAM’s 2008 lightweight grand prix was cut short when the ring side doctor’s claimed Alvarez unable to continue due to large swelling around his right eye, despite defeating Tatsuya Kawjiri to claim the final spot in the tournament run.

We would later return to the states after a brief stint in Japan, and signed with Bellator Fighting Championships.

From there, even the initiated who weren’t familiar with Eddie Alvarez and his punching prowess, were going to get a rude introduction to the punch-face-spectrum.

At Bellator 33, in front of adoring hometown crowd in Philadelphia, Eddie Alvarez displayed some of his best striking to date. Devastating low kicks, “dart” right hands and mixed in with some takedown’s, it really looked like just a matter of time before Huerta would go. However, the tough Mexican fighter displayed the kind of heart and pride that fans have become familiar with from Roger, and he didn’t go without a fight.

It was a ringside doctor that halted the October tussle at the end of the second round, after Alvarez’ right hands had taken their toll on Huerta’s right eye (ironically enough) and called a halt to the bout. And just like that, Eddie got the super fight that him and the fans had wanted to see since Roger’s inception in Bellator earlier this year, and made the lightweight champion only the second man in “El Matador’s” near 30-fight career to finish him.

However with the loss, according to Huerta’s manager Jeff Clark who spoke with MMAFighting.com recently, Roger also suffered to broken orbital bones, one for each eye.

“He’s a little beaten up but how long he stays out really depends on the breaks,” Clark told MMA Fighting. “The doctors are looking at it.”

Roger’s downtime is unknown at this point, but we will know more within the coming days.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the news? When Huerta is fully recovered, who would you like to see him in there with? Does the win validate Eddie as a top player in the lightweight division not just in Bellator, but in the world?
Sound off in the comment section below.

Here are the highlights of an interview Melendez recently did with MMA Weekly: “Of course I want to fight Frankie Edgar and Eddie Alvarez… I really want to figure out who’s No. 1 in the world. [Those fights] would help me figure it out right there… I think I’ve been the one making the most noise about this and I think I’m finally starting to get heard… I know Eddie wants to fight me, I want to fight Eddie… Win or lose, I just want to figure out if I can beat this guy or not. I can’t live with myself not knowing.”

Now that’s a warrior speaking right there, ladies and gentlemen. Gilbert Melendez simply isn’t the kind of fighter that turns down fights or ducks fighters. His past performances are all I need as proof in order to believe him when he says that he would gladly take on both the Bellator and UFC champion. I think the Lightweight division in MMA in general has been blown wide open this year. With new talent, the fall of BJ Penn, and the announced merger of the WEC and UFC, MMA’s 155 division will be one of the ones to watch in 2011.

In regards to Gilbert Melendez vs. Eddie Alvarez, I honestly think that fight would be a toss-up. Just because Gilbert Melendez beat Shinya Aoki while Shinya Aoki beat Eddie Alvarez does not mean that Melendez will beat Alvarez. That’s a pretty obvious example of “MMA Math”, and I’ve never once believed in that system of thinking. A fight is a fight, a fighter can reinvent himself countless times over and simply holding a win over an opponent that beat your upcoming opponent isn’t something you can take for granted. It’s certainly a feather in your cap and a great way to get yourself motivated, but you’ll lose sight of your opponent as he is right now if you focus on how he performed in the past.

When it comes to Gilbert Melendez vs. Frank Edgar, this one definitely isn’t happening. But as far as “fantasy fights” go, this is an awesome one. It would be a very competitive, very fast-paced fight, but ultimately I’ve just got to favor Edgar. Edgar is making a habit out of proving people wrong and doing it in spectacular fashion. Against Melendez we’d see the same incredible drive, the same determination, the same insane cardio… taken by themselves I think Melendez could deal with Edgar, but when you put them all together you get a total package that only Gray Maynard has been able to stand up against.

While I won’t hold out hope for Melendez vs. Edgar anytime soon, I honestly think that we’ll see Melendez vs. Alvarez before 2011 is through. It’s just such an interesting fight, and this rivalry is starting to gain quite a lot of traction in the press. Personally, I’ll continue to cover this rivalry because I want to do whatever I can to push both promotions towards co-promoting. A Bellator vs. Strikeforce rivalry would give us some guaranteed “Fight of the Year” candidates, and I’m all in favor of excellent match-ups between amazing fighters, regardless of what banner they’re waving.

And what about you, fans and friends? What do you make of Melendez’s comments and the Bellator/Strikeforce rivalry in general?

Without question both Bellator and Strikeforce are two of the top-tier promotions in the business (behind the UFC) and have become so by consistently putting on some of the best fights in recent memory.

Now with the acquisition of world class fighters within each promotion, it has been Bjorn, the Bellator CEO, that has gone out of his way to get in touch with Scott Coker of Strikeforce.

However, Coker has refuted claims that Bjorn has contacted him, let alone text him. Rebney upped the ante recently when he released pictures indicating otherwise.

“Bjorn’s saying he’s texting me 11, 12 times an hour. I’m not sure if he’s trying to be a level-five clinger or anything like that, but I haven’t received one text from the guy”, said Scott while speaking with Sherdog.com.

“I’m not sure what the motivation is, but maybe it’s just his way of staying in the media, staying in the press.”

Bjorn has been very vocal about a match up pitting his champion and top-10 fighter Eddie Alvarez against Strikeforce’s own Gilbert Melendez, who last April defeated the only man to put an “L” in Alvarez’ lightweight career, Shinya Aoki. While both champion’s have been equally as vocal about the said match up, Coker doesn’t necessarily see the significance of the fight, though he’s not exactly opposed to it either. However, Coker is citing that Bjorn’s intention’s may just be to garner more attention for his own upstart promotion, piggy backing off of Strikeforce.

“Let’s face it: Gilbert’s fought everybody. He beat the guy that Eddie lost to”, continued Coker.

“For them to say, ‘Oh, Gilbert’s ducking him’ — come on, let’s be real. Gilbert has ducked nobody, and neither has Eddie. These are two great fighters. The thing is, if Bjorn’s serious about doing this, then there has to be a business component that has to be worked out. Unfortunately that hasn’t started yet. It’s just been a bunch of stuff in the media. He’s chosen the media to use it as a platform to try to push this thing along, but I think it’s maybe a PR move.”

“It’s very obvious to me he’s using the media as a platform to try to do his business, but that’s not how we’re going to do business. If he wants to do business, call me or fly out here, come sit down with me. If there’s a deal to be made, we’ll try to make it, but I’m not going to do it in the media. That’s for sure.”

MMATorch.com has released photographs indicating that Bjorn has in fact attempted contact with Coker. However, BloodyElbow.com has also reported that Coker no longer uses the phone in question.

It’s either a FAIL on Bjorn’s part, or Strikeforce has a weird way doing business.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the news? Sound off in the comment section below.

Here’s what the soft-spoken Coker had to say over at Sherdog: “Bjorn’s saying he’s texting me 11, 12 times an hour. I’m not sure if he’s trying to be a level-five clinger or anything like that, but I haven’t received one text from the guy… [Gilbert Melendez] beat the guy that Eddie lost to. For them to say, ‘Oh, Gilbert’s ducking him’ — come on, let’s be real… He’s chosen the media to use it as a platform to try to push this thing along, but I think it’s maybe a PR move.”

I think Scott Coker is right to criticize Rebney, in all honesty. Coker is asking for nothing more than to simply call a spade a spade: by calling out Strikeforce and pulling the “ducking” card, Bellator FC is looking to drive up interest in their promotion. This has been a tactic used in the fight game since what feels like forever. Rebney isn’t the first fight promoter to boldly declare that he has the better champion, Coker is simply asking us to recognize this and realize that Rebney is using a tactic generally considered cheap and counter-intuitive to actually making a “champion vs. champion” fight happen.

But if we’re calling a spade a spade, let’s also realize that Scott Coker isn’t exactly blameless in this situation. Bjorn Rebney has actually been more than willing to meet any of Strikeforce’s demands in order to make matches like Alvarez vs. Melendez or Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo Souza vs. Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard. In the past, Rebney has stated that he would offer up his stars to compete on a Strikeforce show, on Strikeforce’s network, and even in Strikeforce’s hometown. Rebney talks a big game, of that there can be no doubt, but he also seems more than willing to put his money (and his champion) where his mouth is.

In the end, I’ve repeatedly called for both men to bite their respective bullets and make these kinds of fights happen. At this point I’d even settle for non-title fights just so we can see bouts like Alvarez vs. Melendez. In a world where virtually all the top fighters and big-money match-ups are in the UFC, these “champion vs. champion” encounters represent some of the biggest, most viable options a non-UFC company has when it comes to putting on stacked shows that fans will pay good money to see. So work it out, guys.

And what do you think, fans and friends? Who gains the most if Bellator and Strikeforce co-promote? And will they ever co-promote?

Bjorn Rebney, the CEO of Bellator, said the following over at Sherdog: “There aren’t promotional issues… There aren’t any hurdles… We’ll do it on Showtime… Let’s do it in San Jose. The answers to the questions are very simple. There’s no reason that fight shouldn’t happen but for the fact that the promoter of Gilbert Melendez doesn’t want it to occur.” In the same article, Alvarez himself accuses Scott Coker, CEO of Strikeforce, of protecting his champion when he said the following: “(Scott Coker)’s trying to obviously protect his champion. I guess he has every right to.”

Now, I’m not a conspiracy theorist by any stretch of the imagination. But it does strike me as a bit odd that Bellator is basically willing to give Strikeforce all the power and promotional exposure in making this match while Scott Coker is still saying that it’s a fight that needs to have a lot of questions about it answered before it becomes a reality. Bellator is willing to serve up Eddie Alvarez on a silver platter, he’ll go to Strikeforce’s base of operations and he’ll fight on their network. Really, what more could Scott Coker ask for?

Eddie Alvarez is certainly deserving of a fight with Melendez, and it’s certainly not like the belt is too prestigious for Alvarez to get a shot at it in his first fight with the promotion. I mean, this is a belt that has just barely found itself on stable ground, at one time we saw an Interim Champion defend his Interim Championship. Gilbert Melendez is an incredible fighter, but the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship lacks the prestige required to just sweep Alvarez under the rug and pretend that he’s not worthy.

However, I’ll admit that the opposing side has their points. Coker has every right to protect his champion, if that is indeed what he’s doing. Strikeforce as a whole is still very much a work-in-progress, establishing credibility in each and every one of their divisions is a huge priority right now. How would it look if a (supposedly) unknown fighter from another organization received an immediate title shot and then humiliated your champion? With Showtime and CBS breathing down your neck, it wouldn’t look good at all, that’s for sure.

So, at the end of the day, do the risks outweigh the rewards? I certainly think so. Both Strikeforce and Bellator could use all the help they could get. There are precious few “dream fights” outside of the UFC and outside of Strikeforce’s Heavyweight division, and this encounter has “dream fight” written all over it. If Strikeforce is afraid that fans won’t know who Eddie Alvarez is, trust me, they’ll know who he is by the time round 2 starts.

And what do you think, fans and friends? Is Strikeforce and Scott Coker really ducking Bellator and Eddie Alvarez? And who would win this fight if it ever happens?

Eddie Alvarez defeats Roger Huerta via TKO due to a Doctor’s Stoppage at the end of Round 2. Ben Askren defeats Lyman Good by Unanimous Decision to become the Bellator Welterweight Champion. Rick Hawn defeats LaVon Maynard via TKO due to strikes at 4:53 of Round 1. Wilson Reis defeats Deividas Taurosevičius via Split Decision. Tim Carpenter defeats Jamal Patterson via Split Decision. Kenny Foster defeats Lester Caslow via Unanimous Decision.  Luiz Azeredo defeats Eduardo Guedes via Unanimous Decision. Nick Cottone defeats Tuan Pham via Unanimous Decision. Fran Evans def Lewis Cassner via submission due to a Triangle Choke at 3:20 of Round 1.

With this win, I think it’s undeniable that Eddie Alvarez has entered into “Top 5” status. Where he belongs in that list is open to debate, and I’m sure we’ll get some of that started soon, but I think Alvarez definitely deserves to be talked about in the same sentence as Frank Edgar, BJ Penn, Shinya Aoki, and Gilbert Melendez. Eddie Alvarez hasn’t lost a fight since 2008, he’s on a six-fight win-streak, and he’s finished every single one of those fights. The man is a phenomenal athlete, and I think big things are in store for him in 2011.

However… with absolutely no disrespect meant to Bellator, a promotion that I’m not too knowledgeable of but have no major problems with, I think Eddie Alvarez has become too big for Bellator FC. Alvarez needs world-ranked opponents, and right now Bellator has set itself up as the go-to place for aspiring rookies rather than top-level talent. Aside from a few bright examples, with Alvarez himself being one of them, Bellator FC doesn’t have a lot of recognizable, world-tested fighters. If Alvarez doesn’t move on to greener pastures, he may honestly begin to stagnate at Bellator.

If Scott Coker and Strikeforce keep stalling in their attempts to make an Eddie Alvarez vs. Gilbert Melendez “Champion vs. Champion” fight, then I think Alvarez should leave Bellator outright and join with Strikeforce. The competition is fiercer, the names are bigger, the pay is higher, and the exposure is greater. I think Eddie Alvarez could become one of Strikeforce’s biggest assets and would be a huge step in the right direction as Strikeforce still struggles with filling its ranks with worthy contenders.

In regards to Roger Huerta, I honestly empathize with the man. It’s pretty plain to see that his brawling, “eat two just to give one” style has ran its course. Huerta finds himself in a very difficult predicament: he needs to completely change his style in order to be truly successful as a Mixed Martial Artist, but his style is what got him his fame and popularity in the first place. I don’t know where Roger Huerta goes from here, but I’ll certainly be pulling for him and I wish him nothing but the best.

And what about you, fans and friends? What did you think of Bellator 33? And where do you see Eddie Alvarez and Roger Huerta ending up in the future?

After a strong run in the UFC, where Roger racked up an impressive 6-2 record, he left the worlds largest organization in favor of the upstart promotion, Bellator Fighting Championships.

An early favorite to become the second season lightweight tournament finalist, Roger’s rise to the top was cut short by lightweight prospect Pat Curran (UFC and WEC veteran Jeff Curran‘s cousin).

Now, losing the last 3 of his last 4 fights, Huerta knows that his next scheduled bout against Eddie Alvarez, in a non-title fight on Oct. 21 is either do-or-die for his career.

“I’ve been really in a slump where it’s been kind of up and down, up and down”, said Huerta in a recent interview with Sherdog.com.

“Like where I’m at in life, what things mean to me in life. It’s been more than just competing and fighting, (but) I think I’m over that now.”

Now over the mental hurdle of expectations, Huerta now takes in the second chance he has received in his career. Shortly after receiving his bid to a title shot to face Alvarez, Pat Curran had suffered injury, and in his place stepped in Huerta, though the fight will not be contested for the belt, nonetheless, it’s a fight (which takes place in Alvarez’ backyard of Philadelphia at Bellator 33) that Roger has fantasized about.

“It’s a dream come true for me, to be honest,” Huerta said. “Something that I was looking forward to when I signed on with Bellator. This is a guy who I’ve been eying, and all of a sudden here it is. It’s happening now and it’s going to be good.”

A win vaunts him back among the best in his class, a loss, which would spell 4 losses in 5 tries, could mean an end to his career.

“I feel like if Eddie wins, he ends up killing my career,” Huerta said. “I can’t take another loss. This is really personal for me. This is my life.”

5. Increased exposure across several television networks.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker recently stated that TV issues were the main reason holding back Melendez/Alvarez. I actually think this is a blessing in disguise. No matter who ends up with which fighter, promoters get their fighters on another network representing their brand. It’s a great way to drive up brand interest, and everyone benefits from increased TV exposure.

4. Strikeforce goes viral.

If any MMA company currently operating can be said to truly “get” viral marketing, it’s Bellator. The upstart promotion has started several successful viral marketing campaigns, the highlight of which was a video showcasing an insane Reverse Triangle Choke by Toby Imada on Jorge Rivera that earned numerous “Submission of the Year” awards. For a promotion that’s still trying to enter into the mainstream, that video alone has close to a million views. Strikeforce could only benefit from Bellator’s knowledge of how to crank out online videos that are viewed by hundreds of thousands of potential fans and customers.

3. Both promotions compliment each other’s rosters so well.

That was basically my point in the introduction to this piece, so of course this one registers high on my list. Both promotions benefit from each other’s rosters because both rosters fill each other’s gaps. Bellator would get some big names that would really drive the push to mainstream acceptance, Strikeforce would move out of the shadow of having big-name stars and, for the most part, only big-name stars. Aside from Eddie Alvarez and Roger Huerta, name a Bellator star that everyone really talks about with regularity. Aside from the champions and big-name stars, name a good low-level or mid-level talent in Strikeforce that performs with regularity and has an actual fanbase. There are examples in both cases, some of them quite obvious, but for the most part they’re few and far between. By mixing rosters, both promotions get the “best of both worlds” treatment.

2. The chance for epic dream-matches.

Alvarez vs. Melendez is the most obvious example, but why stop there? Why not Roger Huerta vs. Nick Diaz if Nick ever does make good on his promise to one day go back down to Lightweight? Bellator has a lot of weight divisions, they’ve even got a female MMA division. Moving forward, as more fighters begin to gain steam and get noticed, there’s going to be a lot of potential big-money fights available if both companies pool their resources. I wholeheartedly believe that Alvarez/Melendez would be just the tip of the iceberg.

But above all else, my #1 reason why this partnership would work is…

1. Everyone loves a rivalry.

Back in the day, do you know what would happen if you started a “UFC vs. PRIDE” argument? You’d get people laughing at you, laughing with you, siding with you, and criticizing you. You’d get arguments, debates, flame wars, trolls, and fantasy matches. Everyone would come out of the woodwork, everyone had an opinion, everyone wanted to get their words in. And do you know why that is? It’s because everyone loves a rivalry. It’s one of the most basic reasons to look forward to a fight, but it’s also one of the most enduring and most profitable. If Alvarez/Melendez kick-starts a promotional rivalry, both promotions will benefit hugely. Sides will be picked, battle lines will be drawn, and the war will rage. Strikeforce and Bellator fans will do whatever they can to support their promotion of choice, while those interested in why so many people get riled up over the rivalry end up checking out both promotions to see what the fuss is about. Everyone benefits.

And that’s what I think fans and friends. Now it’s your turn: what did you think of my list, and what would you add/subtract from it?

Although his in-ring antics against Mizuto Hirota at “Dynamite!! 2009″ would inidicate otherwise, the grappling ace usually keeps to himself and refrains from doing a lot of outlandish things. Maybe that’s why the Japanese have embraced him as their leading man in the world of mixed martial arts.

However, most recently, the famed Judoka has stepped out of his shell and lit the MMA world abuzz once again, with his almost brutal honesty, on how he views the Western MMA scene (um…us) and how they can benefit by tuning into DREAM, once in a while.

Here is a transcript from a short interview Aoki, the DREAM lightweight champion, had done with Grappling Dummy, in an official DEEP affiliated gym, in Tokyo, Japan. Props to MiddleEasy for the find.

If you’d like to read the transcript in it’s entirety, the tread along, otherwise, if your looking for the meat and potatoes, what he thinks about the UFC, his favorite fighters, etc, then scroll on down towards the end.

GD: Are you any closer to achieving the “ideal self” you talked about in recent interviews?

SA: Yes… by practicing everyday, I get closer to my ideal self. It’s the training itself, every day.

GD: Amateur Wrestling is helping out a lot of fighters win fights. Do you think you can counter it by training more wrestling?

SA: I am not a wrestler, so… But I do have elements of wrestling in my style. I don’t think I’m going to change what I do that much.

GD: Now that prize money is offered in grappling competitions like Abu Dhabi Pro, would you compete in jiu jitsu again?

SA: Abu Dhabi Pro… What’s the prize money?

GD and Associates: (scuffling, and some back and forth) Do you have any idea? No, I don’t know. Maybe it’s like… five thousand dollars. Pretty small.

SA: Multiply that by ten and I might do it!

GD: How do you feel about the western fighters comparing themselves to the samurai of Japan?

SA: Samurai are the guys with the chon-mage haircut and swords… They aren’t walking around today. It’s probably a misunderstanding of the Japanese culture.

GD: Are martial arts just fighting or do they teach you to be a better person?

SA: Well, it’s my job. I don’t really know if it would benefit me… A lot of people say that fighters are good people, but I’m not sure how useful it is for a professional fighter to be a nice guy.

:::: Free conversation, starting with BJ Penn‘s loss to Frankie Edgar ::::

SA: BJ lost the fight, but… I am a really huge fan of BJ Penn. In fact, he’s my favorite fighter. Technically he lost, but… Real martial arts means a knockout or a submission. I still think he is the “number one”. I think the problem in the fight was that BJ didn’t try hard enough to get the submission and finish the fight. I think that was the problem. Maybe technically it was a good game, but not very interesting.

GD: Do you want to see Gray Maynard vs Frankie Edgar?

SA: I don’t! (laughs).

:::: Free Conversation Concerning Western MMA; Specifically, the UFC ::::

SA: I am a really big fan of the UFC. I love it. But the wrestling style of take down, holding… Standing, a little boxing, then another take down… It’s boring. Going for the submission, the KO, is much more interesting. That’s what Japanese MMA is all about. Lately, in the UFC, there are some amazing fighters, but… It’s not always exciting.

:::: Favorite Fighters ::::

SA: My favorite fighters are BJ Penn, Joe Stevenson, Kenny Florian, Melvin Guillard, Nate Diaz. I like aggressive fighters. All this wrestling is boring.

:::: The Gilbert Melendez fight in Strikeforce, last April; his last loss ::::

SA: (In the Melendez fight) it had nothing to do with the cage. I was simply weak. I can’t really explain it in words, but… Step by step, I’m improving. It will be fine.

:::: His opinion on the top 4 fighters in the lightweight division ::::

SA: BJ Penn, Eddie Alvarez, Gilbert Melendez, Frankie Edgar… Anyway, there’s four (top lightweights). With BJ as number one. The most aggressive is Eddie Alvarez. The most defensive is Franke Edgar. Gray Maynard!…He’s a…(hesitating) good wrestler.

:::: MMA Promotions Aoki watches ::::

SA: I watch all the American MMA shows. From Elite XC, then Strikeforce, the UFC… Basically I watch everything. When a fighter get’s released from the UFC, they move down to a local promotion. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose. With tough fighters coming up, it’s good.

GD: How much weight do you cut?

SA: Five or Six kilograms (which translates to 11 to 13 pounds). (Cutting lots of weight) is not good for the body. American fighters train so hard, they use a lot of supplements. So their fighting peak is pretty small.

(except Randy Couture)

SA: (Smiles and nods)

I encourage everyone to watch the video when they have a chance. I’m sure the little nuances and such would be much better translated on video instead of me writing it all out, inch by inch.

So, MMA peeps, what’s your take on Aoki now? Have your views changed? Do you agree with his assessment of the Western MMA scene? Sound off in the comment section below.

After an illuminated run in Japan, where Alvarez has picked up some of the biggest wins of his career, which includes victories over the likes of former DREAM lightweight champion Joachim Hansen, former Shooto champion Tatsuya Kawajiri and current DEEP lightweight champion Katsunori Kikuno.

Not impressed?

En route to Bellator gold, he was able to submit all three of his opponents, including the heralded Toby Imada, a Jiu-Jitsu whiz who became an internet sensation with his inverted triangle choke over lightweight notable Jorge Masvidal, which garnered Imada the “Submission of the Year” on several publications, including a trophy award at the 2009 World MMA Awards, hosted by Fighters Only.

So when Alvarez, 26, heard word that Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez has called him out on numerous occasions, the Philly fighter didn’t take too kindly to it.

Eddie made the most of his opportunity when he was guest on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani, and confronted Scott Coker, the CEO of the San Jose based organization, regarding their champion.

“Scott, It seems as though your lightweight champion keeps on calling me out on every interview and I have no problem with that”, began the enigmatic lightweight.

“I’ve never said anything about the kid and I would never say anything at all. Never even approached anybody about fighting Gilbert Melendez. He just doesn’t shut up, every other interview he’s talking about fighting me ‘Oh I want to fight Eddie Alvarez, I want to fight Eddie Alvarez’ and it really makes me look bad because I see (the interview) the next day later. So Bjorn [Rebney] (Bellator Fighting Championship CEO) says it’s OK, I say it’s OK, Gilbert is telling the world that he wants to fight me. I assume you’re the only one left to agree.”

Gilbert Melendez has been on the mend, taking the rest of the year to help him recuperate from injuries sustained in back-to-back 5 round title fights against Josh Thomson, which helped him avenge his only other loss hanging out there (the first was against Mitsuhiro Ishida, which he later avenged as well), and most recently Shinya Aoki, who holds a victory over Alvarez, in April of this year. Melendez soundly defeated the DREAM lightweight champion in his first title defense, shucking off any take down attempts while raining down the hammer on his Japanese foe. He was able to come away the victor, winning every round on the judges score cards.

While talks had been in place before, a sort of more subtle meeting of the minds with the CEO’s Scott Coker and Bjorn Rebney, both parties appear to be game–the sticking matter, appears to be how co-promotion would work for both parties, considering Strikeforce’s ties with CBS, Showtime, and now M-1 Global.

“First of all, I have tremendous respect for you. I think you’re a great fighter, great champion of Bellator and I followed your career over in Japan when you were fighting over there and these things are sometimes a little complicated”, stated the cautious Coker.

“It’s not just the fight, of course we would love to make the fight, but there’s so many details to be worked out between the promotions to make it happen. Bjorn did call me and I did talk to him and this was probably two months ago. I said look, Gilbert has a broken hand at the time so let’s just table this until the future, but after the KJ Noons/Nick Diaz fight, we can readdress this. We’ve been open to co-promotions with every league so that’s not the issue. The issue is how does it work on a business level between our two leagues and if we can work that out, we would love to have it.”

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of this? Would you like to see Melendez in action against Alvarez? Who do you take in this match up? Sound off in the comment section below.

“El Matador” recently spoke on Inside MMA, and had this to say (text recap courtesy of MMA Mania): “I’m putting this in my mind that he’s trying to go out and kill me, kill my career. I’m not going to let that happen. He’s going to bring the best out of me and I’m going out there to try to knock him out and to finish him.”

I certainly respect Huerta for being so motivated for this match with Alvarez. If I’m being honest, I think there’s a real argument to be made that Huerta hasn’t been really motivated for a fight since losing to Kenny Florian. He’s looked great win or lose, but I it honestly felt like his heart wasn’t in it anymore. I think Huerta knows he’s in a do-or-die situation when it comes to being a highly-ranked Lightweight, and I think being a highly-ranked Lightweight means something to “El Matador” again. I don’t doubt that we’ll see the best Huerta possible when he faces Alvarez.

But Huerta may be selling himself short if he thinks that another loss will kill his career. I don’t see Roger Huerta going anywhere anytime soon. His popularity may even be at the highest it’s ever been since his days competing in the UFC and becoming the first Mixed Martial Artist to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Nothing gets your name out there, for better or for worse, quite like a viral video. Huerta will always have a home in MMA, so long as he commits to it. He’s built like a GQ model and possesses an amazing amount of heart, skill, and tenacity. There’s a reason why everyone was thinking he’d be the next big thing sooner rather than later. And I think he can still get to that level one day.

He’ll have a tough time of it against Alvarez, though. That’s a fight that everyone wants to see, and I’m glad that it’s happening even though it’s not for the title and Huerta is coming off of a loss. Eddie Alvarez is a phenomenal fighter, and may just be the best fighter in the whole of the Bellator FC promotion. He’s 20-2 and hasn’t lost since 2008. When people speak about the UFC having most but not all of the best talent in the world, they’re talking about fighters like Eddie Alvarez.

And if you want my opinion? My gut says it’s too close to call, my heart says Huerta, my head says Alvarez. Both men are so evenly matched: they both have eleven (T)KO’s. They’ve both been submitted. Alvarez may be on a five-fight win-streak with all wins coming by way of submission, but he actually has only two more submission victories than Huerta. You could argue that Huerta has been in there with better competition, but you can also argue that Alvarez in a better position career-wise and that being in a do-or-die scenario that forces you to rise to the occasion can be as big of a curse as it can be a blessing. The more and more I try to examine this fight, the more and more I think it’ll be a toss-up. So for now, I’m just going to wait and see how it all goes down. And I’m sure that no matter who wins, we’ll be treated to a Fight of the Year-caliber showdown.

And what about you, fans and friends? Who’ve you got for Huerta/Alvarez, and why/how?

Eddie Alvarez, the reigning and defending Bellator lightweight champion and DREAM veteran, will be facing UFC veteran and now-internet-sensation, Roger Huerta at Bellator 33.

The news was first reported during the broadcast of tonight’s Bellator 25 card, which was headlined by 185-pound champion Hector Lombard against former NFL player Herbert Goodman, in a non-title affair.

Pat Curran, the 155-pound season 2 lightweight tournament champion, earned the right to face current champion Eddie Alvarez while beating the aforementioned Huerta and Toby Imada along the way to the finals. However, a shoulder injury will sideline Pat Curran for the unforeseeable future, and in the interim steps in Huerta.

Roger made headlines recently as he was featured in a video popularized my TMZ, vindicating a woman who had been knocked out by a much larger african american male. Huerta approached the man, and one thing lead to another, and the video later showed said assailant on his back, bloodied and unconsciousness.

Eddie Alvarez rose to fame with his run through DREAM’s inaugural lightweight tournament. And with win’s over the likes of Tatsuya Kawajiri, Joachim Hansen, and Katsunori Kikuno anchoring his résumé, Alvarez has made himself a formidable opponent as well here in the states, and is widely recognized as a top-5 lightweight.

So, is this the fight fan’s would more like to see, or we’re we all banking on a title fight between Curran and Alvarez, more so, over this non-title affair?

I’ll start with what is quickly becoming one of Strikeforce’s biggest advantages: their Women’s division. In short, Strikeforce’s women’s division has consistently given us some of the best fights of the night. Given the fact that Women’s MMA is a relatively new phenomenon, nothing really needs to be changed. There’s already some growing dissatisfaction among MMA purists that Strikeforce’s Middleweight wrecking machine Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos has no real competition to truly measure herself up against, but that’s hardly Strikeforce’s fault. While it may shine a harsh light on the fact that all other Middleweights are playing catch-up to Cris Cyborg, seeing Santos dominate again and again has yet to lose its appeal.

With his recent thrashing of Shinya Aoki, Gilbert Melendez has quickly earned the rank of “Best Lightweight Not in the UFC”. Many are pointing to an epic showdown with Bellator Fighting Championships Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez as a dream-match that would go a long way towards cementing the legitimacy of the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship. While I also believe that Melendez vs. Alvarez would be a fantastic match, I think Strikeforce should go one step further and forge an actual alliance with Bellator in the same vein as their alliance with the Japanese-based DREAM promotion. This would give Strikeforce a considerably deeper pool of talent while also showcasing Bellator FC, which has gained a cult following due to its penchant for highlight-reel knockouts and submissions but lacks true mainstream exposure.

For Strikeforce’s Welterweight Division, it is in Strikeforce’s best interest to build up Welterweight champion Nick Diaz, despite the fact that he remains one of the sport’s most polarizing fighters. For all his faults, Nick Diaz stands out as arguably the greatest Welterweight not named Georges St-Pierre. Diaz’s unorthodox but highly effective “punches in bunches” strategy combined with his vastly underappreciated ground game has resulted in seven straight wins since 2007, with seemingly no end in sight. Diaz is a rare exception to the rule: a controversial fighter that’s actually worth the trouble.

With the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship now vacated, a Middleweight Tournament is a no-brainer. With no names or format revealed as of yet, I’ll wait to see how this all turns out before giving my opinion on how Strikeforce should move forward with their Middleweight division.

While not as earth-shattering as Fedor Emelianenko’s recent loss, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal’s victory over former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi did cast the future of Strikeforce’s Light Heavyweight Division in doubt. Even with his bad boy attitude and strong wrestling skills, “King Mo” remains a relative newcomer. Strikeforce’s best option is to keep “King Mo” active against the stiffest competition possible. If Mo is able to weather the storm and beat several tough opponents either by highlight-reel stoppage or hard-fought decision, he will bring credibility both to himself and to his championship.

The future of Strikeforce’s Heavyweight division is far from uncertain. Despite calls for an immediate Fedor/Werdum rematch, Fabricio Werdum deserves his shot at Heavyweight gold. It may never generate as much interest or make as much money as an Alistair Overeem vs. Fedor Emelianenko dream match, but Overeem/Werdum needs to happen. As for Fedor Emelianenko, it doesn’t matter who his next opponent is. Fans will be so interested in seeing how Emelianenko rebounds from his first-ever legitimate loss that they will tune in no matter what.

Simply put, Strikeforce deserves to be where it is: despite some stumbling blocks, the promotion always tries to put together the best cards possible. When all is said and done, the future of Strikeforce is actually quite bright.

So what do you think, fans and friends? What does Strikeforce need to do to hold or even re-gain your attention?

Curran got the judges’ decision by scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 28-29. Many fans were furious over the decision saying that Imada should have won. Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio scored the fight 29-28 for Imada.

Imada seemed to control the first two rounds by dictating where the action took place, using kicks to the body and the legs of Curran and getting off faster and landing cleaner shots than his opponent.

Fighters.com did not feel Curran took over the fight until round three where he seemed to finally find his range and won the effective striking portion of the awful ten-point must system.

Imada was visibly upset at the loss but when the fight is left in the hands of the judges, you have to expect that anything can happen. Especially when most of the judges we have today all come from the world of boxing and don’t seem to fully understand or value leg kicks and ring generalship MMA style.

With this victory Curran has earned himself a title shot against Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez (18-2) who was there to watch the fight.

“It was a tough fight, it could’ve gone either way,” Alvarez said. “That’s what happens when you leave it to the judges. I’m impressed and looking forward to fighting him.”

Also on the card was Fujii who many consider to be one of the top pound-for-pound women in the sport. She is a jiu jitsu and judo black belt so it comes as no surprise that a majority of her wins have come via submission. This fight however saw her beat a game Sarah Schneider (4-5) vie har very first TKO.

Megumi pushed the action with strikes and takedowns but Sarah did a great job keeping her from advancing positions by using tie-ups on the ground.

However the constant pressure by Fujii eventually wore Sarah down and in the third round she took her down and this time was able to work to full mount where she unleashed punches until he ref was forced to step in and stop the fight.

Now that she has this fight under her belt she can look forward to Bellator’s first woman’s tournament scheduled to take place later this summer. A tournament where she will be favored come August 12 when the 115 pound tournament starts off.

Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio want to know how you scored the Curran vs. Imada fight and your thoughts on the woman’s tournament.

The talk of this fight taking place all started when Melendez appeared on “Inside MMA” on HDNet. Melendez recently beat Shinya Aoki (19-5), a man many believed to be a top three fighter in the lightweight division. Now Melendez believes the fight between him and Alvarez could be for the number one ranking.

“I think he’s an amazing fighter, and that’s why I call out Eddie Alvarez,” Melendez said. “Let’s unify those titles. I’d love to fight that guy and test myself. I think if I could beat him, I could be No. 1 and vice versa.”

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney jumped behind Melendez seeing the chance for a major fight that indeed would have major implications in the divisional hierarchy.

“I will do everything I can to get Gilbert what he asked for,” Rebney stated. “Gilbert wants the fight, Eddie wants the fight, and I want the fight. All we have to do is get Scott Coker on board, and together, we can make this happen. Eddie wants to fight the best, and Gilbert wants to fight the best, and there is no reason why any promoter or network should stand in the way of that.”

Scott Coker agreed that they need to put this fight together for the benefit of the fans and since Bellator and Strikeforce have already worked together it should not be hard to make come to terms.

“We’ve lent them three or four fighters already, and we had a brief conversation about (loaning) Roger Huerta, but the terms, conditioning, time just weren’t right,” Coker said. “But we’d love to work with them.”

This all hinges on Eddie winning his first title defense this fall when he will fight the winner of Toby Imada (26-14) versus Pat Curran (11-3).

Eddie Alvarez may just be the most underrated fighter in all of MMA. He keeps knocking down everything put in front of him and Fighters.com feels it is time he gets the recognition he deserves.

Recognition that would come from a cross-promotional super-fight fans have been waiting to see. When Pride FC was still around talk always surrounded Pride champs versus UFC champs. The fans and media alike wanted this to happen and we never truly got to see it unfold. Now these fights are starting to take place with fights like the aforementioned Aoki versus Melendez.

Fighters.com believes that if anything can save the inevitable sinking ship that has become Strikeforce it will be fights like this. Scott Coker needs to continue to work with Dream and Bellator in order to give fans match-ups that will not only put butts in the seats but also bring in the viewers. Something they have not been able to do their last two events.

Fighters.com hopes for the sake of the sport we get to see this fight at the beginning of next year. Stay tuned for further updates.

The winners of these fights will face each other in the Season Two finals in June with the winner earning the right to face Fighters.com third-ranked and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez (17-2) in a title fight.

Rebney made the announcement today at a presser at the Wang Theatre, where he was joined by Curran and Alvarez, whose much-anticipated Bellator Super Fight with former UFC contender “The Dentist” Josh Neer (27-9-1) headlines the May 6th Boston card.

“As a fan, I can’t wait for our May 6th show in Boston,” Rebney said.  “Alvarez vs. Neer should be explosive, with Eddie making his first appearance in the U.S. since he won our lightweight title last summer.  Huerta vs. Curran just got really interesting coming off of Pat’s one punch KO of previously undefeated Mike Ricci. Toby’s world class submission wrestling vs. Carey’s world class wresting should be a great fight as well.”

The fallout from recent lightweight fights has the rankings in a mess right now and leaves Alvarez in a position to take the number one spot after the consensus one and two both lost. “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-6-1) lost his title at UFC 112 while second-ranked “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (19-5) lost in his American debut on the Strikeforce: Nashville card.

Fighters.com believes that Alavarez is one of the most overlooked fighters in the lightweight division. His only two losses come at the hands of Aoki in 2008 and “The Goat” Nick Thompson (38-11-1) back in 2007.

Bellator has been putting together tough fights in this highly anticipated season and fans are flocking to the tournament format to recapture some of the nostalgia from the early days of the UFC and of Pride Fighting Championships.

MMA Junkie is reporting that Huerta received his formal release from the UFC this week and is now finalizing the deal with Bellator and MMA Gospel Radios’s guest this past week, Bjorn Rebney. Bjorn is Bellator’s CEO and gave us one of the best interviews we have ever done.

Signing Roger Huerta is another big step for the small promotion making huge waves in mixed martial arts (MMA) news week in and week out. This would make Huerta the seventh lightweight added to the second season of Bellaor which kicks off April 8 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The season will run for twelve weeks and will air live on Fox Sports Net on Thursday nights. A highlight episode will air on NBC and Telemundo on the weekend. The second season focuses on tournaments in the featherweight, lightweight,welterweight and middleweight classes with the winners getting a shot to face the season one tournament champions.

This could be very big for Huerta as the winner of each division wins $100,000 over three fights in three months. If he wins the eight-man tournament he then gets a shot at current Bellator champion and Fighters.com third-ranked lightweight Eddie Alvarez (17-2).

When MMA Gospel Radio talked with Bjorn about Alavrez he was obviously excited to have what I consider one of the most under-rated fighters in all of MMA as his lightweight champion and spokesperson. Eddie was in one of the best fights I have ever witnessed when he faced fourth-ranked “Hell Boy” Joachim Hansen (18-8) at Dream 3 in the lightweight Grand Prix Quarter Finals. He won that fight via split-decision and the thought of him facing Roger Huerta is one to relish.

Time will tell what the future holds for Huerta and for Bellator but I am sure all MMA fans are excited to for the imdeiate future for both fighter and promotion.

The addition of Baker is a good one for the tournament. He is a former high school wrestler who is now a black belt in judo and trains at Team Wildman in Denver, Colorado. He has wins against UFC veteran “Outburst” Rory Singer (12-9) and former IFL Grand Prix winner “Suave” Matt Horwich (24-13-1).

Baker says his singular goal is to advance through Bellator’s Season 2 tournament to earn the chance to take on reigning World Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard.“I put so much effort into my training that it gives me 100 percent confidence that I’m going to win every time,” Baker said. “Lombard has the belt and I’m coming for his belt. I’d say that he better stay on top of his training or else he’s in for a big surprise.”

This is just one of many additions Bellator has made in their off season. Former Olympian and highly touted prospect Ben Askren (3-0) signed an exclusive long term agreement and will participate in the welterweight tournament. Hardcore MMA fan favorite Dan Hornbuckle (14-2) also looking to make a splash in the welterweight tournament. Other fighters include “The Taz” Bao Quach (16-9-1), William Romero (4-0), Jim Wallhead (17-5) and Mike Ricci (1-0) to name a few.

Bellator is doing what many fans have been wanting to see for a long time. They are taking all the highly touted prospects along with a few well established fighters and giving them a  way to fight one another. I see Bellator as an organization that is becoming the proving grounds for these prospects. They will have to step in the cage, face each other and then look to fight men like Bellator FC middleweight champion Hector Lombard (22-2-1) and lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez (17-2).

I have no idea what Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney has planned for the future or where he sees his organization in comparison to the UFC but I feel they could become the perfect feeder organization for Dana White, Joe Silva and the UFC. The only question remaining is if the fans will actually support them and get out to am event.

Last season the events seemed to be lacking fans from what I could tell. I wonder if the periodic signings slowly trickling out is a planned event in order to keep them in the news and to bring in more fans? If so it is a brilliant move. I have seen more people talk about this company in the last 6 months then I did during their first season. If this is any indication the fans will come out to support all the hard work they have put in to the new season and tournaments.

I have my doubts but with four events in Kansas City I hope for the best. The Midwest is a hot bed for MMA with hardcore fans that follow even the most obscure fight organization. My question to you is, will you be attending a Bellator event?

Diaz won the original exhibition match and eventually the TUF 5 championship.  But, Maynard has bullied ahead of Diaz since TUF 5, with big decision victories of UFC contenders sixth-ranked “The Answer” Frank Edgar (11-1) and “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-3-1).

With vengeance tonight versus Diaz, Maynard will have proven himself as the top contender in the UFC’s 155-pound division and will deserve a title fight versus Fighters.com and UFC Lightweight Champion “Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-5-1).

In fact, Maynard deserved the title shot over Penn’s last challenger ninth-ranked “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (21-3).  Penn stopped Sanchez in the fourth round at UFC 107 in Memphis December 12.  It was never a competitive contest, primarily because Sanchez hadn’t put in the work in the division to earn the fight.

But, Fighters.com worries recent UFC signee “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-6) might take Maynard’s shot even if Maynard wins versus Diaz for the same reason Sanchez did.  Gomi is a bigger name, despite his recent disappointing performances.

Gomi is the type of fighter UFC President Dana White would crack jokes about if Gomi wasn’t now a UFC fighter.  Since reigning as PRIDE lightweight champion, Gomi’s focus on fighting has been lax.  He’s lost consecutive fights to Sergei Goliaev (9-6) at Sengoku in November 2008 and Satoru Kitaoka (24-9-7) at Sengoku in January 2009 and has expressed desires to spend the rest of his years surfing rather than fighting.  He’s evidently changed his mine.  Even as PRIDE champion, he dodged losing his title in non-title losses to “Maximus” Marcus Aurélio (18-7) in 2006 and Nick Diaz (20-8) in 2007.  (The Diaz loss was later ruled a no contest by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after Diaz tested positive for marijuana.)  And, as PRIDE champion, his matchups followed the Japanese pattern of one legitimate contender, followed by one tomato can, and so on.  What’s disappointing about Gomi is that his losses to Aurélio and Goliaev were supposed to be his tomato can fights.

Fighters.com’s point is that, while Maynard has earned a title shot, Gomi should be required to earn a fight versus Penn.  Sanchez didn’t earn his title challenge and the result was an obviously unprepared Sanchez versus a particularly lethatl Penn.

Fighters.com January Lightweight Rankings

1. “Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-5-1)

2. “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-4)

3. Eddie Alvarez (16-2)

4. “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (18-7)

5. “Bully” Gray Maynard (8-0)

6. “The Answer” Frank Edgar (11-1)

7. “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (12-4)

8. “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2)

9.  “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (21-3)

10. “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-4-1)

Timely too!  Sanchez is scheduled to fight Fighters.com and UFC Lightweight Champion “Prodigy” BJ Penn (14-5-1) at UFC 107 in Memphis December 12.

Top contender “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-4) has a few options for his next challenge.  He could fight Sengoku champ Mizuto Hirota (9-3) when Japanese promotions DREAM and Sengoku collaborate north of Tokyo on New Year’s Eve, but told a press conference announcing the collaboration he didn’t know who Hirota is.  Or, he could take the previously rumored matchup versus eigth-ranked “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2) at the same event.  Or, Aoki could make his Strikeforce debut, as the Japanese star has signed with the UFC’s top competition to make his American debut in 2010.

Fourth-ranked “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (18-7) was challenged by former foe and top tenner Eiji Mitsuoka (15-6-2) for the DREAM/Sengoku collaboration, but no confirmation of the matchup has been announced.

Fifth-ranked “Bully” Gray Maynard (8-0) will fight Nate Diaz (10-5) at UFC Fight Night 20 at the Patriot Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia January 11.

Sixth-ranked “The Answer” Frank Edgar (10-1) will take on late replacement for “Batman” Kurt Pellegrino (15-4), undefeated Matt Veach (8-0), at The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale in Las Vegas December 5.

Ninth-ranked “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-4-1) announced he’ll fight “Tractor” Rafaello Oliveira (8-2) at UFC 108 in Las Vegas January 2.

Fighters.com November Lightweight Rankings

1. “Prodigy” BJ Penn (14-5-1)

2. “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-4)

3. Eddie Alvarez (16-2)

4. “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (18-7)

5. “Bully” Gray Maynard (8-0)

6. “The Answer” Frank Edgar (10-1)

7. “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (11-4)

8. “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2)

9. “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-4-1)

10.  “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (21-2)

Sanchez has certainly fought in some of SpikeTV’s most memorable fights, including his most recent split decision victory over perennial gatekeeper “Carpenter” Clay Guida (25-10) at The Ultimate Fighter 9 finale in Las Vegas June 20.

But, UFC lightweights fifth-ranked “Bully” Gray Maynard (8-0) and sixth-ranked “The Answer” Frank Edgar (10-1) are more deserving of a title shot, though admittedly less well-known to casual UFC fans.

Maynard won a split decision over another unranked, but popular UFC lightweight “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-3-1) at UFC Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma City September 16.

Edgar will follow-up his unanimous decision over former UFC champ ninth-ranked “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-4-1) at UFC 98 in Las Vegas May 23 versus “Batman” Kurt Pellegrino (15-4) at The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale in Las Vegas December 5.

Diaz beats unrelenting, but beatable Guida and gets a title shot versus Penn.  Edgar beats the former champ Sherk and is notched down to fight Pellegrino.  Explain that…

Sherk was scheduled to fight Gleison Tibau (16-6) at UFC 104 in Los Angeles October 24, but withdrew with an injury.

Most recent UFC title challenger, seventh-ranked “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (11-4), will swap opponents with Diaz when he fights Guida at UFC 107.

Meanwhile, across the Pacific second-ranked DREAM champ “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-4) avenged his most recent loss in the division with an armbar submission of fourth-ranked “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (18-7) at DREAM.11 in Yokohama October 6 and is already slated to defend his title from eighth-ranked “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2) at Dynamite!! 2009 north of Tokyo on New Year’s Eve.

Third-ranked Eddie Alvarez (16-2) and tenth-ranked Katsunori Kikuno (5-0-1) will fight at DREAM.12 in Osaka October 25 for the next DREAM title shot versus the winner of Aoki v Kawajiri.

Fighters.com’s October Lightweight Rankings

1. “Prodigy” BJ Penn (14-5-1)

2. “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-4)

3. Eddie Alvarez (16-2)

4. “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (18-7)

5. “Bully” Gray Maynard (8-0)

6. “The Answer” Frank Edgar (10-1)

7. “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (11-4)

8. “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2)

9. “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-4-1)

10. Katsunori Kikuno (5-0-1)

Also added to the card, Cage Force welterweight champ Kuniyoshi Hironaka (13-6) will matchup versus “Parky” Won Sik Park (2-0).

Alvarez tapped out Toby Imada (23-14) in a rear naked choke at Bellator 10 in Miami June 19.

Kikuno TKO’d Andre Amade (1-2) at DREAM.10 in Tokyo July 20.

Hironaka TKO’d Yoshihiro Koyama (10-2-1) at Cage Force 12 in Tokyo September 12.

Park submitted Yuichi Ikari (7-4-2) by rear naked choke  at DEEP 43 in Tokyo August 23.

DREAM.12 will be broadcast on HDNet in North America.

Fighters.com has not confirmed the story and MMA Weekly reported that Bellator matchmaker Matt Stansell said he’d only heard a rumor about the matchup, but had received nothing official from DREAM. MMA Weekly’s source is anonymous.

According to the report, Alvarez would be “traded” to DREAM for the matchup versus Kikuno in exchange for a fighter contracted to DREAM fighting on a Bellator card.

Fighters.com’s ninth-ranked lightweight “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (15-3) will face third-ranked Eddie Alvarez (13-1), and heavyweight Mark Hunt (5-2) will face Jerome LeBanner (4-1-1).

A fight with Aoki had been offered to fifth-ranked middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama (12-2), but he decided not to fight at all NYE.

“I’m tired of negotiating with [Akiyama],” said FEG executive Sadaharu Tanikawa.

“He doesn’t understand what fans expect from him and his position.  I don’t know the reason why he turned down the offer.  I’m very disappointed in him.”

Aoki last fought at DREAM.6 in September, submitting “Maniac” Todd Moore (10-3) with a neck crank in round one.

Alvarez made it to the Lightweight Grand Prix finals at DREAM.5 in July with a first-round TKO of “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (23-5), but was unable to compete due to injury.

Alvarez is also scheduled to fight a yet-to-be-announced opponent 23 January at Extreme Challenge in Atlantic City.

Hunt has lost three consecutive fights, submitting to “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem’s (27-10) keylock at DREAM.5.  The other two losses were to Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (28-1) and seventh-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (19-5).

LeBanner most recently fought in March 2006 when he KO’d “Titan” Jimmy Ambriz (12-8) in the first round.

Alvarez said, “The only thing I know 100 percent sure right now is January 23 I’ll be fighting here in Atlantic City at the Tropicana.  You know, bring it back home.  I’ve been fighting overseas a lot lately, and the jet lag and everything else, it’s good to just drive 40 minutes from home, get a fight and then go home and rest.”

The Philadelphia native does not have an opponent yet.

Alvarez last fought in the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix in July.  He TKO’d “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (23-5-2) at 7:35 of round one to advance to the final, but was unable to compete due to a cut over his eye.

ProElite, Inc. is the parent company of the EliteXC promotion that is nationally broadcast in the States on CBS, as well as owner of the MMA brands King of the Cage, CageRage, ICON, and Spirit MC.

ProElite’s website is functioning and has no mention of the company’s bankruptcy.

However, Gracie Fighter, the website of EliteXC fighter Nick Diaz‘s  (18-7) manager, Cesar Gracie, posted Monday evening, “We are confirming that EliteXC has folded.”

The cancelled event was to have taken place in Reno and aired on Showtime featuring title fights in two weight divisions.

Fighters.com’s fourth-ranked middleweight “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (16-4) was scheduled to defend his title from challenger Joey Villasenor (26-6); and, Fighters.com’s third-ranked lightweight Eddie Alvarez (15-1) and Diaz were to have fought for the vacant 160-pound title.

EliteXC debuted 10 February in Southaven, south of Memphis, and has held 17 events.

Recently, the promotion’s most popular star, “Kimbo Slice” Kevin Ferguson (3-1), was knocked out by late replacement “Silverback” Seth Petruzelli (10-4) in 14 seconds in Sunrise, north of Miami, 4 October.

The failed company was the most prominent challenger to the UFC.  It exposed millions to the sport of mixed martial arts via it’s relationship with CBS.

However, CBS EliteXC Fight Night was a production of CBS’s entertainment division, not it’s sports division; and, ProElite was often criticized for heavily promoting Kimbo Slice, a fighter who gained initial fame through videos of backyard fights broadcast on YouTube.

After Slice was KO’d by a UFC castoff, UFC President Dana White remarked to the Boston Herald, “These guys have lost $60 million trying to get this thing off the ground.  They’re building their promotion around a guy who can’t fight.  It’s kind of fucking stupid, isn’t it?  You’re in the fight business and you’re building your business around a guy who can’t fight.”

ProElite, Inc. executives were unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

“I’ll be fighting Nick Diaz, we’re about 90-something percent positive I’ll be fighting Nick Diaz for the EliteXC title at 160 (pounds),” Alvarez said.

“Nick’s a great opponent, he poses a lot of threats. Very good striking, as well as good jiu-jitsu, so he’s been in the game a while, he’s a pure fighter and I like that.”

Alvarez added, “[Diaz] gets a lot of bad rap from a lot of people with his attitude, but deep down he likes to fight, he enjoys to fight and I consider myself the same kind of person. I enjoy to fight, my heart’s in this.”

The title is currently vacant after the belt was stripped recently from “King Karl” Karl James Noons (7-2).

Alvarez most recently participated in DREAM’s Lightweight Grand Prix in July, winning a spot in the final with a first-round TKO of “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (22-5-2), only to withdraw due to injury.

Diaz is coming off three TKO wins, most recently over “Wildman” Thomas Denny (26-17) in the second round in July.

Why?

(Well, besides the obvious jack the UFC stands to profit on the main event.)

But, UFC President Dana White himself has claimed Penn’s best weight class is 155 pounds; and, Penn made much ballyhoo about getting serious and slimming down to 155 pounds, his natural fighting weight.

Penn has never fought above 155 with a physique that could be described as anything but “pudgy”.

Penn is also 0-2 in his last two 170-pound fights in the Octagon, which must make UFC welterweight contenders wonder if they can get some Vaseline.

In Saitama, north of Tokyo, 24 August, top lightweight contender “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (29-3) won a unanimous decision versus tough, but relatively unknown Korean champ Seung Hwan Bang (5-2).

The tougher-than-expected struggle probably did more for Bang than Gomi, whose commitment to Sengoku has left him with few top ten challengers since the demise of PRIDE.

On the undercard, sixth-ranked Eiji Mitsuoka (14-5-2) shutup brash Brazilian Rodrigo Damm (8-2) in a first-round rear naked choke submission.

Mitsuoka was competing in the first round of Sengoku’s Lightweight GP, the winner of which will challenge Gomi.

Fifth-ranked “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (32-3-1) will come back from his May loss to Penn to fight worthy UFC challenger Tyson Griffin (12-1) in Chicago 25 October.

Seventh-ranked “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (10-3), who was cheated out of his title challenge versus Penn due to the St. Pierre match-up, will have to take out his frustrations on “Daddy” Joe Stevenson (29-8) in Las Vegas 15 November.

DREAM hasn’t announced a rematch between third-ranked Eddie Alvarez (15-1) and fourth-ranked DREAM champ “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (19-7-1); but, Fighters.com would be surprised if Alvarez doesn’t get first dibs on the champ he already beat.

If he doesn’t, he and Florian can share a bottle of Vaseline with the UFC welterweight contenders.

The bottom of the top ten, eighth-ranked Kotetsu Boku (13-5-1), ninth-ranked “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-3), and tenth-ranked “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (14-2-1) were out of the loop last month and have no announced match-ups to report.

September Lightweight Rankings

1. “Prodigy” B.J. Penn (13-4-1)

“Prodigy’s” return to lightweight quickly resulted in UFC gold with two stoppages over Joe Stevenson and Jens Pulver. In May, he dominated the best the UFC had to offer in a TKO of Sherk; but, he won’t stay at 155-pounds,

2. “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (29-3)

Gomi avenged a 2006 blip to Marcus Aurelio with a stoppage on NYE the same year followed by a stoppage of Mitsuhiro Ishida.  A year-long layoff keeps Gomi from ichi-ban, but he returned in March with a stoppage of Duane Ludwig.

3. Eddie Alvarez (15-1)

Since dropping from welterweight for the DREAM Lightweight GP, Alvarez has been relentless in a stoppage of Amade, UD over Hansen, and TKO of Tatsuya Kawajiri.  Only an injury prevented him from securing the DREAM title.

4. “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (19-7-1)

“Hellboy” shocked Aoki with a TKO in a rematch of the fight that introduced the gogoplata to MMA.  He also holds a UD over Boku, but decision losses to Alvarez and Mitsuoka hint at inconsistency.

5. “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (32-3-1)

“Muscle Shark” had been on the shelf for nearly a year since decisions over Franca and Florian.  In his return, Penn outclassed the wrestler to a TKO, leaving both top UFC lightweights with slim competition within the promotion.

6. Eiji Mitsuoka (14-5-2)

Mitsuoka followed up a majority decision over Hansen in Shooto by handing SpiritMC 155-pound champ Kwang Hee Lee  his first loss in Sengoku.  Only a SD loss to Boku in Cage Force tarnishes his two-year record.

7. “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (10-3)

Florian is a finisher since losing a UFC title challenge to Sherk by UD. “KenFlo” is ready for a second title challenge after a dominant UD over top UFC contender Roger Huerta.

8. Kotetsu Boku (13-5-1)

Boku risks being labled a fluke.  After a SD over Mitsuoka, Boku has dropped consecutive decisions to Artur Oumakhanov and Hansen.

9. “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-3)

Aoki had eleven straight wins, including MMA’s first gogoplata stoppage over Hansen, topped only by MMA’s first gogoplata stoppage from the mount over Katsuhiko Nagata.  But, Hansen exacted revenge with a TKO in the DREAM GP final.

10. “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (14-2-1)

“JZ” has brushed Andre Amade, Vitor Ribeiro, and Nam Phan off his shoulders with stoppages since a MD over Caol Uno in ’06, part of 13 straight without a loss until losing a UD to Aoki in April.

“Hellboy” shocked Osaka 21 July by TKOing former Fighters.com Lightweight Champion “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-3) in the first round of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix final.

Aoki spirals down eight wrungs to ninth on the loss, taking vanquished rival tenth-ranked “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (14-2-1) with him.

Penn takes the Championship from the second rank, but is torn between moving to welterweight to fight Fighters.com Welterweight Champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (17-2) or defending his Fighters.com and UFC titles from seventh-ranked, top UFC contender “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (10-3).

In Minneapolis 9 August, Florian cleared-up the UFC’s lightweight picture with a dominant UD over “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-2-1).

Hansen seems destined to defend his DREAM title from third-ranked Eddie Alvarez (15-1), who won a UD over Hansen in the second round of DREAM’s tournament.

Alvarez TKO’d “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (22-5-2) to earn the fight versus Aoki in the DREAM GP final, but sustained injuries that allowed Hansen to replace him.

Second-ranked “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3) will fight DEEP Lightweight Champion Sung Hwan Pang (5-1) in Saitama, north of Tokyo, 24 August.

August Lightweight Rankings

1. “Prodigy” B.J. Penn (13-4-1)

“Prodigy’s” return to lightweight quickly resulted in UFC gold with two second-round stoppages over Joe Stevenson and Jens Pulver. In May, he dominated the best the UFC had to offer in a TKO of Sherk.  Will he stay at 155-pounds?

2. “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3)

Gomi avenged a 2006 blip to Marcus Aurelio with a stoppage on NYE the same year followed by a stoppage of Mitsuhiro Ishida.  A year-long layoff keeps Gomi from ichi-ban, but he returned in March with a stoppage of Duane Ludwig.

3. Eddie Alvarez (15-1)

Since dropping from welterweight for the DREAM Lightweight GP, Alvarez has been relentless in a stoppage of Amade, UD over Joachim, and TKO of Tatsuya Kawajiri.  Only an injury prevented him from securing the DREAM title.

4. “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (19-7-1)

“Hellboy” shocked Aoki with a TKO in a rematch of the fight that introduced the gogoplata to MMA.  He also holds a UD over Boku, but decision losses to Alvarez and Mitsuoka hint at inconsistency.

5. “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (32-3-1)

“Muscle Shark” had been on the shelf for nearly a year since decisions over Franca and Florian.  In his return, Penn outclassed the wrestler to a TKO, leaving both top UFC lightweights with slim competition within the promotion.

6. Eiji Mitsuoka (13-5-2)

Mitsuoka followed up a majority decision over Hansen in Shooto by handing SpiritMC 155-pound champ Kwang Hee Lee  his first loss in Sengoku.  Only a SD loss to Boku in Cage Force tarnished his two-year record.

7. “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (10-3)

Florian is a finisher since losing a UFC title challenge to Sherk by UD. “KenFlo” is ready for a second title challenge after a dominant UD over top UFC contender Roger Huerta.

8. Kotetsu Boku (13-5-1)

Boku risks being labled a fluke.  After a SD over Mitsuoka, Boku has dropped consecutive decisions to Artur Oumakhanov and Hansen.

9. “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-3)

Aoki had eleven straight wins, including MMA’s first gogoplata stoppage over Hansen, topped only by MMA’s first gogoplata stoppage from the mount over Katsuhiko Nagata.  But, Hansen exacted revenge with a TKO in the DREAM GP final.

10. “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (14-2-1)

“JZ” has brushed Andre Amade, Vitor Ribeiro, and Nam Phan off his shoulders with stoppages since a MD over Caol Uno in ’06, part of 13 straight without a loss until losing a UD to Aoki in April.

Hansen was originally eliminated from the tournament at DREAM.3 11 May after dropping a decision to Eddie Alvarez (15-1), but was drafted into the final after slapping an armbar on “Black Mamba” Kultar Gill (10-8) at 2:33 of round one in the tournament’s reserve fight Sunday.

Ironically, Hansen replaced Alvarez after Alvarez knocked out “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (22-5-2) at 7:35 of round one in a thrilling slugfest.  A right hook, right uppercut combo floored “Crusher” and Alvarez pounded the Japanese fighter out, but sustained a cut over his right eye in the action that would prevent him from fighting for the title.

Tournament favorite “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-3) contorted himself into the final versus Hansen in a unanimous decision over “Uno Shoten” Caol Uno (25-11-4), throwing everything in the “Judan” book at Uno: armbar, triangle choke, heel hook, rear naked choke, gogoplata, etc.  Though Aoki wasn’t able to stop Uno, he dominated for the decision.

The final was set: Aoki v Hansen; and, in most people’s minds, already settled in favor of the Japanese favorite.

Aoki quickly pressed his advantage and put Hansen on the mat, running through his repertoire of locks and chokes.  Hansen defended and worked into top position inside Aoki’s guard.

Pow!  Hansen tore into Aoki with punches from the top and a big left stunned the “Tobikan Judan”.  Hansen quickly finished off the helpless favorite with strikes at 4:19 of round one to win DREAM’s first Lightweight Championship.

Akiyama Has Something Up His Sleeve

Yoshihiro Akiyama (11-1) returned from an eight-month stint on the DL to choke out Katsuyori Shibata (2-5) with the sleeve of his gi at 6:34 of round one.

Shibata held his own for the first half of the round as he exchanged with the heavily-favoured Akiyama.

However, once the fighters went to the mat, Akiyama was able to get on top, get into mount, and put Shibata to sleep.

Overeem Taps Hunt

“Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (28-11) accepted the challenge from Kiwi kickboxer Mark Hunt (5-4) on three-days’ notice and gave little notice to Hunt before tapping him in a keylock at 1:11 of round one.

It was Hunt who took Overeem to the mat to begin the fight; but, Overeem used the position to his advantage.

Hironaka Wins DREAM Debut

Fresh from a poor showing in the Octagon, Kuniyoshi Hironaka (12-5) stopped a two-fight losing streak with a solid straight that gashed  Motoki Miyazawa‘s (4-1) left eye.

The fight had been a fairly even stand-up war; but, the cut prompted a doctor stoppage in favor of Hironaka at 8:57 of round one.

Other Fights

Featherweight Joseph Benavidez (8-0) remained undefeated after tapping “Kodo” Junya Kudo (6-2-2) in a guillotine choke at 2:42 of round one.

Welterweight Daisuke Nakamura (15-9) followed a straight right to Andy Ologun (1-1) into a takdown and slick armbar to tap Ologun at 3:41 of round one.

Though issued a yellow card for low blows, featherweight Hideo Tokoro (22-13-1) won a unanimous decison over Takeshi Yamazaki (14-8-2).

Fighters.com never questioned Penn’s talent, just his recent body of work at 155-pounds.

Though Penn fought unquestionably tougher competition last month, “Tobikan Judan” stole the show in the division by pulling a gogoplata from the mount out of his hat to tap Katsuhiko Nagata (4-3) 15 June in Tokyo.

It seems impossible for DREAM’s magician from Tokyo and the UFC’s warrior from Hilo to settle the cross-Pacific lightweight question; but, UFC President Dana White is desperate to keep Penn’s eyes from wandering out of the young UFC 155-pound division.

Penn told the post-UFC 84 press conference that, after out-boxing Sherk, it’s hard for him to get motivated to fight the winner of seventh-ranked “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (9-3) versus “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-1-1) to be fought in Minneapolis 9 August.

Penn wants Fighters.com’s Welterweight Champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (16-2).

White wants Penn to focus at 155-pounds.

Fighters.com predicts White is committed enough to the division and keeping Penn in it to sign some of the top lightweights not already in the UFC.

Maybe Aoki. Maybe not.

Maybe sixth-ranked Eddie Alvarez (14-1), who draws “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (22-4-2) in DREAM’s Lightweight GP in Tokyo 21 July.

Alvarez is on loan to DREAM from Adrenaline MMA, run by Alvarez’s manager Monte Cox.

Cox has a good relationship with the UFC and and his fighters.

Fighters.com speculates Cox would gladly send Alvarez to the big show for awhile if he feels like Adrenaline can’t give Alvarez the fights that best capatalize on Alvarez’s success in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Aoki fights on the same card as Alvarez in July, matched versus tenth-ranked “Uno Shoten” Caol Uno (25-10-4).

Third-ranked “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3) returns versus a yet-to-be-named foe 24 August in Tokyo, keeping Fighters.com questioning why we’ve seen so little of the former PRIDE Champ since losing to Nick Diaz (17-7) in February 2007.

Eighth-ranked Hermes Franca (18-6) returns in Las Vegas 19 July from his suspension for testing positive for banned substances. He’s matched versus rising talent “The Answer” Frank Edgar (8-1).

Third-ranked “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (14-1-1) and ninth-ranked “Dida” Andre Amade (6-3-1) are both on the shelf after losing in DREAM’s Lightweight GP.

June Lightweight Rankings

1. “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (15-2)

Aoki has eleven straight wins, including MMA’s first gogoplata stoppage over Joachim Hansen, topped only by MMA’s first gogoplata stoppage from the mount over Katsuhiko Nagata.

2. “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn (13-4-1)

“Prodigy’s” return to lightweight quickly resulted in UFC gold with two second-round stoppages over Joe Stevenson and Jens Pulver. In May, he dominated the best the UFC had to offer in a TKO of Sherk. Will he stay at 155-pounds?

3. “The Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3)

Gomi avenged a 2006 blip to Marcus Aurelio with a stoppage on NYE the same year followed by a stoppage of Mitsuhiro Ishida. A year-long layoff keeps Gomi from ichi-ban, but he returned last month with a stoppage of Duane Ludwig.

4. “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (14-1-1)

“JZ” has brushed Amade, Vitor Ribeiro, and Nam Phan off his shoulders with stoppages since a MD over Caol Uno in ’06, part of 13 straight without a loss until losing a UD to Aoki in April.

5. “The Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (31-2-1)

“Muscle Shark” had been on the shelf for nearly a year since decisions over Franca and Florian. In his return, Penn outclassed the wrestler to a TKO, leaving both top UFC lightweights with slim competition within the promotion.

6. Eddie Alvarez (14-1)

Since dropping from welterweight for the DREAM Lightweight GP, Alvarez has been relentless in a stoppage of Amade and a UD over Joachim Hansen.

7. “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (9-3)

Florian is a finisher since losing a UFC title challenge to Sherk by UD. “KenFlo” is ready for a second run at the title, but will first face Roger Huerta for the UFC top contendership.

8. Hermes Franca (18-6)

Despite a year suspension, Franca has been busy the last two years with stoppages of Spencer Fisher, Nathan Diaz, and new WEC champ Jamie Varner. He’s only dropped a UD to Sherk and returns 19 July versus Frank Edgar.

9. “Dida” Andre Amade (6-3-1)

Since a UD over Uno, Amade has been stopped consecutively by top tenners Alvarez and Calvancante. In the last two years, “Dida” has also stopped Artur Oumakhanov and Hiroyuki Takaya.

10. “Uno Shoten” Caol Uno (25-10-4)

Uno splashed into the top ten with a submission of former PRIDE title contender Mitsuhiro Ishida. The former UFC and K-1 star now begins a run in DREAM that leads to Fighters.com Champ Aoki in July.

After two false starts, “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (15-2) and “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (14-2-1) finally fought for the Fighters.com top ranking in Tokyo at the end of April.

Aoki came out on top with a unanimous decision and now tops Fighters.com lightweight rankings, but suffered injuries that have postponed his DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix quarter final match-up versus Katsuhiko Nagata (4-2) until DREAM.4.

Calvancante fell to number three, allowing “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3) to claim the second ranking.

Gomi is rumoured to be joining the 8 June Sengoku III card in Tokyo, but no opponent has been leaked.

Fourth-ranked “Prodigy” B.J. Penn (12-4-1) and fifth-ranked “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (31-2-1) will tussle for the UFC lightweight title 24 May in Las Vegas.

Eddie Alvarez (14-1) debuts in the lightweight top ten at number six after dominating “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (17-7-1) in the quarter final of DREAM’s Lightweight GP.  He’ll fight in the semi-finals (and perhaps the finals) at DREAM.5 21 July.

Seventh-ranked “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (9-3) and eighth-ranked Hermes Franca (18-6) both hop two spots after “Endless Fighter” Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-4-1) got tapped in a rear naked choke in “Uno Shoten” Caol Uno‘s (25-10-4) DREAM Lightweight GP quarterfinal debut.

Florian is scheduled to fight “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-1-1) 9 August in Minneapolis for the UFC’s top contender spot, while Franca lingers in suspension after testing positive for banned substances last July.

Uno advances to the DREAM Lightweight GP semis (and maybe finals) with Alvarez, but against an unknown opponent.

“Dida” Andre Amade (6-3-1) also debuts in the lightweight rankings at number nine, mostly on the strength of his unanimous decision victory over Uno last September.  Recently, though, Dida has been dominated by Calvancante and Alvarez.

May Lightweight Rankings

1. “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (14-2)

Aoki has ten straight wins, including MMA’s first gogoplata stoppage over Joachim Hansen.  A UD over Calvancante in April cemented him atop Fighters.com’s rankings.

2. “The Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3)

Gomi avenged a 2006 blip to Marcus Aurelio with a stoppage on NYE the same year followed by a stoppage of Mitsuhiro Ishida.  A year-long layoff keeps Gomi from ichi-ban, but he returned last month with a stoppage of Duane Ludwig.

3. “JZ” Gesias Calvancanti (14-1-1)

“JZ” has brushed Amade, Vitor Ribeiro, and Nam Phan off his shoulders with stoppages since a MD over Caol Uno in ’06, part of 13 straight without a loss until losing a UD to Aoki in April.

4. “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn (12-4-1)

“The Prodigy’s” return to lightweight quickly resulted in UFC gold with two second-round stoppages over Joe Stevenson and Jens Pulver.  He defends his title from Sherk at the end of May.

5. “The Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (31-2-1)

“The Muscle Shark” has been on the shelf for nearly a year since decisions over Franca and Florian.   He was the UFC’s first lightweight titlist since the division was reinstated and challenges Penn for title he was stripped of.

6. Eddie Alvarez (14-1)

Since dropping from welterweight for the DREAM Lightweight GP, Alvarez has been relentless in a stoppage of Amade and a UD over Joachim Hansen.

7. “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (9-3)

Florian is a finisher since losing a UFC title challenge to Sherk by UD.  “KenFlo” is ready for a second run at the title, but will first face Roger Huerta for the UFC top contendership.

8. Hermes Franca (18-6)

Despite a year suspension, Franca has been busy the last two years with stoppages of Spencer Fisher, Nathan Diaz, and new WEC champ Jamie Varner.  He’s only dropped a UD to Sherk.

9. “Dida” Andre Amade (6-3-1)

Since a UD over Uno, Amade has been stopped consecutively by top tenners Alvarez and Calvancante.  In the last two years, “Dida” has also stopped Artur Oumakhanov and Hiroyuki Takaya.

10. “Uno Shoten” Caol Uno (25-10-4)

Uno splashed into the top ten with a submission of former PRIDE title contender Mitsuhiro Ishida.   The former UFC and K-1 star now begins a run in DREAM.

Fighters.com’s tenth-ranked middleweight “Mayhem” Jason Miller (21-5) and Nick Diaz (16-7) also picked up wins.

“Mayhem” easily pounded out Masakatsu Funaki-trained Katsuyori Shibata (2-4) in 6:57 to add himself and a bit of respectability to the Middleweight Grand Prix to be continued at DREAM.4.

In the Lightweight GP’s biggest upset, Uno was too slick for Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked lightweight “Endless Fighter” Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-4-1) on his feet, then, surprisingly, on the mat.

“Uno Shoten” wrapped Ishida up in a rear naked choke during a scramble on the ground, ending the “Endless Fighter” at 1:39 of the second round.

Alvarez won an exciting unanimous decision over “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen in an upset predicted by Fighters.com.

Kawajiri advanced to DREAM.5 in the expected “W” over “Buscape” Luiz Firmino (12-4), but wasn’t able to stop the tough Brazilian.

Some fighters get rusty after a prolonged absence.  “Mean for no reason” (as labeled by “Punk” Josh Thomson (14-2)) Diaz was pissed after six months of inactivity.  He unloaded on welterweight King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue (16-6-3) for nearly seven minutes, causing Inoue’s corner to throw in the towel.

Diaz earned a DREAM welterweight title shot with the dominating “W”.

Welterweight Daisuke Nakamura (14-9) served Korean judoka Bu Kyung Jung (0-3) his first stoppage loss with a knockout at 1:05 of round two.

“Marvelous” Melvin Manhoef (21-4-1) TKO’d another Korean judoka, Dae Won Kim (4-4), at 4:08 of round one.

Lightweight Takeshi Yamazaki (14-7-2) won a unanimous decision over Shoji Maruyama (6-3-1).

That’s what most believe, but, not so long ago, most believed the world was flat, or, at best, the rounded shell of a very large turtle.  Since “time and chance happeneth to all”, let’s take a quick peek at what could happen.

On 11 May, we’ll see if one the following warriors has the equipment to give Aoki his first loss since 2005.  Since several of these fighters (complete with difficult-to-pronounce names) aren’t quickly recognized among the North American MMA mainstream, where Affliction brands and “GSP” references are as common as stop signs, all the more reason to break’em down.

Which lightweight might stop the flexible “Tobikan Judan”?

From least likely to most:

Katsuhiko Nagata (4-2)
  
Aoki, after suffering injuries in his decision win over “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (14-2) at DREAM.2, will face Nagata at DREAM.5.
  
Nagata is one busy fighter as long as he’s on top. A silver-medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2000 Olympics, Nagata can clinch well and might toss Aoki to the mat.  But, what happens when Aoki’s on his back?  Brer Rabbit and the brier patch come to mind.

Aoki should hand Nagata his first submission loss.

Eddie Alvarez (13-1) v “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (17-6)

Alvarez is fireworks, blood, and guts.  He’s always been dangerous, but after losing to Fighters.com’s ninth-ranked welterweight “The Goat” Nick Thompson (35-9) in Bodog and his subsequent weight drop, he’s unpredictable as well.

Before Thompson pounded him out, Alvarez had one gear and one direction: forward with fists flying.  He’s a smarter fighter now with improved takedowns, though his lust for hitting hard is still on board.

Hansen had the skills to give third-ranked lightweight “The Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3) his first-ever lost.  Those skills have only gotten better.

“Hellboy” has brutal leg kicks, which is what toppled Alvarez in Bodog.  But, Hansen isn’t nearly as lanky as Thompson; and, Alvarez will get the better of the Norwegian if Hansen employs his kicks.  If Alvarez manages a single-leg, don’t expect him to play in Hansen’s ever-dangerous guard.
  
Alvarez should likely pound this one out, but, if he ends up with Aoki under him, his ground game won’t be enough to keep himself clean of armlocks and triangles galore.

“Endless Fighter” Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-3-1) v “Uno Shoten” Caol Uno (24-10-4)

There’s not much Uno can’t do well.  He is exciting and capable of showing up on someone’s back when neither the opponent, nor the crowd expects it. He’s slick and fun and will keep this fight interesting with bursts of opposition.
  
Fifth-ranked lightweight Ishida is a great wrestler and doesn’t get punched much while waiting for a shot.  He moves very well.  His footwork will keep him out of trouble when the fight is standing; and, he’ll power through the submission attempts.  And, although he’s not super exciting (or, maybe because he’s not), Ishida will likely stay on top, throwing just enough leather to keep the ref from forcing the duo to their feet.

Should Ishida wrestle out a ‘W’, he might face off with Aoki; but, it’s not enough to just put Shinya on his back.

“Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (21-4-2) v “Buscape” Luiz Firmino (12-3)

Firmino moves well enough off his back and has good cardio.  And, his back is exactly where Kawajiri could put him quickly as Firmino seems to have problem giving up takedowns.

Once down, though, Firmino must work for submissions, and; Kawajiri will make it everything but easy.  Firmino will take a lot of damage, with only brief respites thanks to the occasional submission attempt that will never be sunk.
  
Kawajiri is a thick beast of a wrestler and tough to submit.  Gomi got him with a rear naked choke, but only after he was hurt with body shots, left hands to the face, and knees that drove him down and ripened him for a tap-out.

Kawajiri still punches like a wrestler when standing, but is a dangerous contender for this Grand Prix.
  
If Kawajiri takes Firmino by TKO or late decision, he could prove more than a handful on the ground for Aoki…should they meet.

“Crusher” postures well and hits hard, but with control.  If he doesn’t expose his legs when he’s on top, Kawajiri will be the fighter to push Aoki the hardest.
  
Unlike the myth of a flat Earth, Kawajiri is one fighter who’s for real and his name, tricky as it seems now, could become a household moniker if he’s the one to topple “Tobikan Judan”.

Their first scheduled matchup was to be last New Year’s Eve at Yarenokka, but “JZ” bailed with a bum knee.

In the Lightweight Grand Prix at DREAM.1, the two division standouts only tussled for about four minutes before an errant Calvancanti elbow dug into the back of Aoki’s head.  The fight was stopped and declared a No Contest when Aoki couldn’t continue.

And, if my kanji literacy isn’t too far off, DREAM also announced the Lightweight Grand Prix’s next round of bouts.

At DREAM.3 11 May, the winner between Calvancanti and Aoki will fight Katsuhiko Nagata (4-2) who surprised Artur Oumakhanov (7-3) in the first round.

Eddie Alvarez (13-1) and “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (17-6-1) will matchup in another Grand Prix bout.

Another matchup features a rematch between “Buscape” Luiz Firmino (12-3) and “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (21-4-2).

Kawajiri won a 2005 unanimous decision over Firmino in PRIDE.

Finally, “Uno Shoten” Caol Uno (24-10-4) got a bye into a second-round fight with “Endless Warrior” Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-3-1).

The K-1/former-PRIDE collaboration featured mismatches of size and skill, world-class MMA, late stoppages, carnival theatrics, a tournament format, and the banshee herself, Lenne Hardt, introducing it all.

The card featured the opening round of DREAM’s lightweight grand prix in which Eddie Alvarez (13-1), “Buscape” Luiz Firmino (12-3), “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (17-6-1), “Endless Fighter” Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-3-1), “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (21-4-2), and Katsuhiko Nagata (4-2) all advanced to the next round.

The tournaments seventh and most anticipated match-up betwen “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (14-2) and “JZ” Gesias Calvancante (14-1-1) ended in a No Contest.

In non-tournament bouts, “Mach” Hayato Sakurai (32-7-2) and “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic both won first round TKOs and “The Punk” Ikuhisa Minowa won a first round submission.

Ishida and Korean judoka Bu Kyung Jung (0-2) fought the most competitive bout with Ishida squeezing a unanimous decision over the MMA rookie.

The Japanese wrestler, Ishida, whirled around Jung for the first two minutes, peppering leg kicks into the Korean’s thighs.  On Jung’s lunging clinch attempt, Ishida slammed him to the mat.

On the mat, inside Jung’s tightly closed guard, Ishida heaved him into the air and slammed him again before raising back to his feet.

Jung followed and lunged to clinch again, but Ishida ducked.  Jung slammed face first into the corner, Ishida pouncing atop him.

From a full guard body lock, Jung transitioned into an armbar as the Japanese fighter tried to yank free.  It was close, and Jung took the opportunity to kick the struggling wrestler in the face before Ishida broke free.  Another powerful Ishida slam countered Jung’s near miss.

As the ground game went on, Ishida’s spurts of G’n'P became more effective as the Korean filed through submissions, but the ref stood them anyway.

Backed into a corner, Ishida threw a clumsy left roundhouse kick Jung blocked as Ishida slipped.  This time it was Jung who pounced, locking Ishida’s head beneath his armpit for another tight neck crank submission attempt.

Again, Ishida popped free, both fighters slick with sweat by that point, and worked an effective ground’n'pound until the ref stood the fighters.

This time it was Ishida who lunged for a single leg takedown and Jung pulled guard, then slipped a slick armbar on the wrestler.  Again, the “Endless Fighter” slipped free and hammered on the judoka to the first round bell.

The second round began as the first, with Ishida avoiding a head-on collision by circling.  Ishida shot for the same single leg takedown that got him in trouble near the end of round one and Jung again pulled guard and sucked up arms at angles looking for submissions.  Ishida countered by grinding fists into Jung’s face until the ref stood them up.

Ishida made it a trilogy with a third identical takedown and Jung responded as he had to the first two.  Both fighters exchanged leather while Jung worked his high guard into a weak triangle choke, but wasn’t able to lock his leg beneath his knee.

The bout ended with both exhausted fighters pitty-patting each other on the mat.

An argument could be made to give the judoka the win, but the judges saw Ishida’s aggressive ground’n'pound as the deal breaker and awarded him a unanimous decision.

In another exciting tournament fight, at the bell Alvarez and “Dida” Andre Amade (6-3-1) stormed to the center of the ring throwing leather.  The American shot a single leg and stood-up with the ankle he had snatched.  He swept Dida’s other foot from beneath him and dumped the BJJ black belt on his back.

The ref stood Dida and he immediately resumed throwing haymakers, catching Alvarez square on the chin with two big left hooks, then dropping him with a third as the American retreated.

But on the mat Alvarez’s superior wrestling positioned him for a two-minute vicious ground’n'pound onslaught that lead to the TKO stoppage at 6:47 of round one.  Dida was simply overpowered and out-positioned.

Tattooed Norwegian Hansen resembled a snow leopard feasting on Kotetsu Boku (13-5-1) of Krazy Bee.  Since becoming the first MMA fighter to tap in a gogoplata in 2006, the former kickboxer Hansen has been all out on the mat.  He took Boku to the ground and paired an octopus-like submission game with brutal ground’n'pound for the entire 15 minutes.  The decision was unanimous for Hansen.

“Buscape” of Brazilian Top Team found a rear naked choke on undersized Kazuyuki Miyata (5-7) at 7:37 of round one.

In a mild upset, Nagata took a unanimous decision over the Russian Artur Oumakhanov (7-3).

Kawajiri earned the sixth spot in round two of DREAM’s lightweight grand prix with a unanimous decision over surprisingly durable “Black Mamba” Kultar Gill (9-7) of Canada.

The tournament’s most hyped match-up fizzled when Aoki took an errant elbow to the back of the head from Calvancanti after much ado about nothing.  There’s been no clarification about a rematch or whether either fighter will advance in the tournament.

Hidetaka Monma (14-8-3) was never in his fight with Sakurai, but evidently the ref was unaware of the mismatch.  From the top position, Sakurai pounded Monma in the head 20-seconds longer than necessary before the referee called a stoppage at 4:12 of round one.

I’m hereby dividing the MMA universe into two halves.  Those, like me, who’re disgusted to witness “Cro Cop” as a characterture of himself matched up against veritable heads-on-a-tee like Tatsuya Mizuno (3-3) and those who lust to see the former PRIDE OWGP champ served-up such heads for entertainment, not sport.  “Cro Cop”, in an awkward performance, TKO’d Mizuno at :56 of round one.

And in the last of the three rings that made-up non tournament action at DREAM.1, Minowaman swung from half mount into a kneebar to submit overweight Korean Bum Chang Kang (1-2) at 1:25 of round one.

DREAM.2 follows on 29 April with the first round a a middleweight grand prix.