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Gilbert “El Nino†Melendez (17-2-0) (Champion) vs. Shinya “Tobikan Judan†Aoki (23-4-0)
Gilbert Melendez has had a successful run in the Strikeforce promotion, defeating Harris Sarmiento, Clay Guida, Tetsuji Kato, Gabe Lemley, Rodrigo Damm, Mitsuhiro Ishida and Josh Thomson, while suffering a lone defeat to Josh Thomson. Gilbert Melendez also had a run in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, defeating Gary Quan, Jeff Hougland and Olaf Alfonso. Gilbert Melendez started off his MMA career in impressive fashion, with a thirteen fight undefeated streak that had lasted over five years. Besides being a two time Strikeforce Lightweight Champion, Gilbert Melendez is also a former Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Champion, defeating Rodrigo Damm at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Shamrock in April 2009. Gilbert Melendez also went undefeated in the PRIDE promotion, defeating Nobuhiro Obiya and Tatsuya Kawajiri. Gilbert Melendez will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with ten victories coming by knockout. Shinya Aoki will not only be making his Strikeforce debut in this fight, but his North American MMA debut as well. Shinya Aoki is coming off a successful run in the DREAM promotion, where he defeated Gesias Cavalcante, Katsuhiko Nagata, Caol Uno, Todd Moore, David Gardner, Vitor Ribeiro and Joachim Hansen, while suffering defeats to Joachim Hansen and Hayato Sakurai. Shinya Aoki also fought in the PRIDE promotion, defeating Jason Black, Clay French, Joachim Hansen and Brian Lo-A-Njoe. Shinya Aoki also holds an impressive victory over UFC veteran George Sotiropolous, which happened at a Shooto event in late 2006. Shinya Aoki will be entering the fight riding a three fight winning streak, which has lasted nearly a full year. Shinya Aoki will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with fourteen victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Shinya Aoki
Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Title Fight
Gegard “The Dreamcatcher†Mousasi (28-2-1) (Champion) vs. Muhammad “King Mo†Lawal (6-0-0)
Gegard Mousasi is currently undefeated in Strikeforce competition, holding victories over Renato Sobral and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Gegard Mousasi also had an undefeated run in DREAM, defeating Denis Kang, Dong Sik Yoon, Melvin Manhoef, Ronaldo Souza and Mark Hunt. Gegard Mousasi most recently defeated UFC veteran Gary Goodridge at a K-1 Dynamite event in late 2009. Of all the DREAM fighters who recently entered Strikeforce, Gegard Mousasi is the only one to win a Strikeforce Title, with Marius Zaromski’s falling short against Nick Diaz. Gegard Mousasi also had a short run in the PRIDE promotion, defeating Makoto Takimoto and Hector Lombard, while suffering a lone defeat to Akihiro Gono. Gegard Mousasi will be entering the fight riding a fifteen fight winning streak, which has currently lasted well over three years. Gegard Mousasi will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with seventeen victories coming by knockout. King Mo is also undefeated in Strikeforce competition, having defeated Mike Whitehead in his Strikeforce debut at Strikeforce: Evolution. King Mo also had a good run in the Sengoku promotion, defeating Travis Wiuff, Fabio Silva, Yukiya Naito and Ryo Kawamura. Despite competing in only six professional MMA fights, King Mo already has three victories over UFC veterans, defeating Travis Wiuff, Mark Kerr and Mike Whitehead. Of his six professional MMA fights, only one has gone to a decision for King Mo, which speaks to the fighters finishing abilities. Prior to competing against Mark Kerr at the M-1 Global event in late 2009, King Mo had fought all of his professional MMA fights in Japan. King Mo will be entering the fight riding a six fight undefeated streak, which has currently lasted over a full year. King Mo will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with five victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Gegard Mousasi
Strikeforce Middleweight Title Fight
Jake Shields (24-4-1) (Champion) vs. Dan “Hendo†Henderson (25-7-0)
Jake Shields is currently undefeated in Strikeforce competition, defeating the duo of Robbie Lawler and Jason Miller. Jake Shields also went undefeated in the Elite XC promotion, defeating Renato Verissimo, Mike Pyle, Nick Thompson and Paul Daley. Prior to entering Strikeforce in 2009, Jake Shields had already fought top MMA fighters like Jeremy Jackson, Dave Menne, Yushin Okami and Carlos Condit. In an interesting career note for Jake Shields, the fighter will be the only fighter who competed on the televised card for the first Strikeforce On CBS card who will be competing on the live portion of the second Strikeforce On CBS card. Jake Shields will be entering the fight riding a thirteen fight winning streak, which has lasted over five years. Jake Shields is also a part of MMA history, as he was the first and only Elite XC Welterweight Champion, which he defeated Paul Daley for the title. Jake Shields will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with ten victories coming by way of submission. Dan Henderson will be making his Strikeforce debut in this fight, but recently came off a successful run in the UFC. While in the UFC, Dan Henderson defeated Carlos Newton, Allan Goes, Rousimar Palhares, Rich Franklin and Michael Bisping, while suffering defeats to Quinton Jackson and Anderson Silva. Dan Henderson also had a very long run in the PRIDE promotion, defeating Renzo Gracie, Akira Shoji, Murilo Rua, Shungo Oyama, Murilo Bustamante, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Yuki Kondo, Ryo Chonnan, Akihiro Gono, Kazou Misaki, Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva, while suffering defeats to Wanderlei Silva, Kazou Misaki, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Dan Henderson had a nine year gap between his two UFC runs, starting his first run in May 1998 and starting his second run in September 2007. Dan Henderson will be entering the fight riding a three fight winning streak, which has lasted well over a year. Dan Henderson will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with eleven victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Dan Henderson
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
