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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eigth-ranked “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2) has drawn Kazunori Yokota (9-2-2) at the same event.

When the collaboration between DREAM and Sengoku at Dynamite!! was announced last month, Aoki slighted Hirota by telling the press conference he had never heard of Hirota.

Aoki tapped out fourth-ranked “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (18-7) at DREAM.11 in Yokohama October 6, avenging a loss he suffered in 2008.

Hirota won the Sengoku title by TKOing Satoru Kitaoka (24-9-7) at Ninth Battle in Tokyo August 2.

Kawajiri TKO’d “Barracuda” Melchor Manibusan (1-1) at DREAM.11.

Yokota won a UD over Eiji Mitsuoka (15-6-2) at Eleventh Battle in Tokyo November 7.

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)

Masanori Kanehara (5-2) stole the Featherweight Grand Prix Championship in a controversial final that featured Kanehara despite losing his semi-final fight by unanimous decision to Hatsu Hioki (16-3-2) versus Michihiro Omigawa (4-8) who was given a hometown free pass into the finals after majority draw on the cards versus Marlon Sandro (13-1) in the semi-finals.

Strikeforce middleweight champ “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (23-9-2) strangled judoka Kazuhiro Nakamura‘s (13-10) hopes of challenging Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago (21-7) in a guillotine at 3:03 of round one, leaving Kaz’ out on the mat. Denied a title challenge himself by Sengoku after pleading guilty to interfering with the duties of a public official following a March traffic stop, Misaki said nothing after playing spoiler, refusing the microphone in the ring.

Former UFC welterweight Akihiro Gono (30-15-7) returned to Japan after a 1-2 stint in the big show, but his opponent “The Handler” Dan Hornbuckle (16-2) made it a bitter homecoming with a head kick that left Gono unconcious for several minutes. Gono was carried out of the ring by stretcher and suffered a concussion and neck injury.

Heavyweight Samboist Blagoi Ivanov (1-0) won his MMA debut over Kazuyuki Fujita (13-8), scoring a draw on the cards but taking the split decision victory in Sengoku’s must decision system.

Lightweight Eiji Mitsuoka (15-6-2) tapped Clay French (15-6) in a guillotine choke at 1:51 of round one.

“Kiss” Yoshihiro Nakao (9-2) won a unanimous decision over Korean heavyweight Mu Bae Choi (2-2).

In the Featherweight Grand Prix reserve bout, “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung (2-0) tapped “Jagger Bomb” Matt Jaggers (12-6) in a triangle choke at 1:25 of round two.

Kitaoka weighed 69.9 kg while Hirota tipped the scales at 70 kg.

The card also features the semi-finals and finals of Sengoku’s featherweight grand prix and all competing fighters also made weight.

Michihiro Omigawa (3-7) weighed 64.9 kg and his undefeated opponent Marlon Sandro (13-0) weighed 64.7 kg. Hatsu Hioki (15-3-2) and his opponent Masanori Kanehara (4-1-) both weighed 65 kg. In the tournament’s reserve fight, “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung (1-0) weighed 64.8 kg and his opponent “Jagger Bomb” Matt Jaggers (12-5) weighed 64.6 kg.

In a face-off of middleweight title contenders, “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (22-9-2) and Kazuhiro Nakamura (13-9) both weighed 83 kg.

In the anticipated MMA debut of Samboist Blagoi Ivanov (0-0) versus Kazuyuki Fujita (13-7), the rookie weighed 110 kg and the vet outdid him at 112.5 kg.

Welterweight Akihiro Gono (30-14-7) weighed 76 kg and his opponent “The Handler” Dan Hornbuckle (15-2) weighed 75.3 kg.

Lightweight Eiji Mitsuoka (14-6-2) weighed 70 kg while his opponent Clay French (15-5) weighed 69.9 kg.

“Kiss” Yoshihiro Nakao (8-2) weighed 103 kg and his fellow heavyweight opponent Mu Bae Choi (2-1) weighed 109.4 kg.

The winner of the tournament will face Fighters.com’s ninth-ranked middleweight “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (20-8-2) for the first-ever middleweight belt 4 January in Saitama at Sengoku 7.

Kazuhiro Nakamura (12-8) will face Yuki Sasaki (22-14-1), and Jorge Santiago (18-7) will face “Afghan Killa” Siyar Bahadurzada (14-3-1).

The event already features a lightweight tournament to determine an opponent for Fighters.com’s second-ranked lightweight “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (29-3) at Sengoku 7 for the title.

The bouts remaining in the lightweight tournament are Satoru Kitaoka (21-8-9) versus sixth-ranked Eiji Mitsuoka (14-5-2), and Kazunori Yokota (7-1-3) versus Mizuto Hirota (10-2).

WVR also announced that Fighters.com’s Fighter of the Month “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (1-0) will fight, although an opponent has not yet been determined.

“GameBred” Jorge Masvidal (14-3) versus Seung Hwan Bang (5-2) is also official.

Joe Doerksen (40-12) revealed through MySpace Tuesday that he has agreed to fight Izuru Takeuchi (25-9-6).

Lawal won his MMA debut in September, TKO’ing the more experienced “Diesel” Travis Wiuff (53-12) in the first round.

Masvidal defeated “Lion” Ryan Schultz (20-11-1) with a first-round TKO at the same event.

Bang lost his last fight via unanimous decision to Gomi in August.

UFC veteran Doerksen won a split decision over John Meyer (5-3) in August.

Shooto and Pancrase veteran Takeuchi won his last fight with a heel hook submission over Junior Santos (0-1) in June.

Mitsuoka advanced to the second round of the Sengoku lightweight tournament, the winner of which will fight second-ranked “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (29-3).

Gomi headlined Sengoku’s fourth battle with a narrow decision over DEEP Lightweight Champion Seung Hwan Bang (5-2).

It was Bang who provided the bang in his stand-up exchanges with the notorious big-puncher Gomi.

But, Gomi edged Bang with stinging leg kicks and championship conditioning for the decision.

Seventh-ranked middleweight “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (17-6) grounded Olympic gold medalist judoka Makoto Takimoto (4-5) at will with single- and double-leg shots, then rained a dominant G’n'P over three rounds to pick-up a unanimous decision in his first fight since December 2007.

In other lightweight tournament match-ups, PANCRASEism’s Satoru Kitaoka (21-8-9) tapped eighth-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes‘s H.I.T. Squad pupil Clay French (16-3) in an Achilles lock at 31 seconds of round one.

IFL Champion “Lion” Ryan Schultz (20-10-1) suffered a surprise second-round knockout by Cage Force Lightweight Champion and former Shooto rookie champion Mizuto Hirota (10-2).

Finally, in an ugly-as-sin slog, Grabaka’s Kazunori Yokota (7-1-3) won a unanimous decision over Slovenian “Zelva” Bojan Kosednar (6-2), who earned two yellow cards for holding and grabbing the ropes.

Yokota saw yellow too for causing Kosednar to see stars with a low blow.

In undercard fights, heavyweight Dong Yi Yang (3-0) TKO’d Polish judoka Pawel Nastula (1-4) in a strange decision by the referee.

In the second round, Nastula worked an armbar, but released it for Yang to rise.  Nastula remained grounded and pointed to his cup, prompting to referee to call the fight at 2:15.

Europe Top Team light heavyweight Moise Rimbon (13-7-3) tapped Aussie kickboxer Peter Graham (0-2) in rear naked choke at 42 seconds of round two.

Valentijn Overeem (26-22) knocked out Yoshiki Takahashi (28-24-3) at 2:43 of round one with a flying knee.