Regular readers of Fix know that anytime a highly regarded competitor from abroad comes overseas to throw down, we immediately kick into nauseating MMA snob mode; see recent posts about Takanori Gomi and over the last couple of days, Shinya Aoki. In other words, we’re extremely excited about the upcoming April 17th bout between Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez and the Dream champ Aoki (and yes, here’s hoping Aoki’s Strikeforce debut isn’t sort of anticlimactic like Gomi’s first UFC bout against Kenny Florian).
One of the best moves Strikeforce has done to date is forge an alliance with the Japanese promotion Dream. It’s no secret that neither organization has the kind of depth that the UFC roster contains, so doing the cross-promotional thing with certain fighters, is clearly a smart move (one that Dana White has yet to criticize with an expletive laced tirade as far as we know). In a recent interview with MMA Weekly, Melendez revealed that it’s looking like this deal could work both ways, in other words, just as Aoki is coming to the U.S., the Strikeforce champ could be heading back to Japan in the near future.
“It sounds like that’s what’s going down, and you know what I’m not mad about it,” said Melendez about a rematch with Aoki in Japan. “The fact that I get to fight the Dream champion, (he’s) coming over here to fight me, and if I beat him and they want to do it, I’m definitely open to it.”
Nothing wrong with that. The more champ vs. champ bouts the better.