Melendez defends belt, makes case to be No. 1 lightweight

Gilbert Melendez held onto his Strikeforce lightweight championship belt with a dominating performance at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley. Melendez quickly TKOed Kawajiri in San Diego on Saturday.

Melendez started aggressively in the first round, dropping Kawajiri with a right hook and then following up with a bevy of strikes. He took Kawajiri's back, and continued to land strikes even as Kawajiri struggled to his feet. When they returned to stand-up, Kawajiri, a noted wrestler, shot in for a takedown but Melendez sprawled, threw an upper cut and then followed up with strikes and elbows to finish the fight at 3:14 in the first round.

After he ran through Kawajiri, Melendez wanted to make it clear that he believes he's the best lightweight in the world, not UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.

"I think it's time to unify some titles. I'm the No. 1 lightweight in the world. Let's get it done," Melendez said.

Melendez hadn't been in the cage for a year; his last win was over another Japanese fighter, Shinya Aoki. Melendez's record is now 19-2. Kawajiri, who faced numerous training difficulties because of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, was making his American debut. He fell to 27-7-2.

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Fitch out: Who should fight Penn?

An injury has forced Jon Fitch to pull out of his July 2 bout with B.J. Penn.

Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Plenty of fans seemed lukewarm on the Fitch-Penn rematch at UFC 132.  The UFC has an opportunity to come up with a something that'll get the juices flowing for its big Fourth of July weekend card.

Finding a fill-in isn't as easy as you'd think. The UFC has almost every fighter in the world under contract, yet its welterweight division doesn't have a ton of choices for Penn.

If healthy, Carlos Condit would be a great. The 26-year-old is now seven months removed from his devastating knockout of Dan Hardy. Because of an injury, he had to pull out of a UFC 127 fight with Chris Lytle. Condit would take the Penn fight, but his knee sounds like it may still be an issue.

"I dislocated a joint in my knee cap and did a lot of damage so I pull out of the fight.  I have been rehabbing and trying to get my knee back in order.  I was sparring today, I have been training all week and it still hurts, but it's healed for the most part," [Condit told MMADieHards.com. ...]

"If I get the call and they offer me the fight, I definitely would be up for that fight, I think it would be an honor to fight B.J.  I would be fighting a huge legend so I think it would put a little pressure on me, (but) there's only one way to find out."

A Penn fight would be great for Anthony Johnson as well. Johnson, also a recent winner over Hardy, would be forced to stay in shape to get ready for the July fight.

"I'm staying in shape and trying to keep my weight down," Johnson [told MMADieHards.com]. "Right now I'm only about 200 pounds, but I'm full of water right now. When I run I sweat so much it looks like I just got out of a swimming pool, so if they were to tell me I have a fight in a month I know I'd be ready. The weight would be easy to come off, I'm good to go."

Johnson indicated that money might be a concern if he was offered a fight against the legendary Penn.

"Hell, if I fight B.J. they're for sure going to have to renegotiate my contract," said Johnson.  "If the opportunity was presented, would I take a fight like that? Yeah.  I don't say no to fights and I like to fight, if I'm winning or not, I still like to fight.  So yeah, I would take that fight."

The only hitch in a Penn-Johnson fight is the potential size disparity. The 165-pound Penn faces that in every welterweight bout, but in Johnson he would battle a guy who walks into the cage as high as 195 pounds on fight night.

Who else could step up by July? Let's throw in a wild card in Strikeforce welterweight champ Nick Diaz. If he dominates Paul Daley this weekend, does Dana White think Diaz is "ready to play the game?"

Thiago Alves is scheduled to fight Rick Story at UFC 130. He could be moved back five weeks. There's also the possibility of a Diego Sanchez rematch, but that appears to a be long shot with the injuries he suffered at UFC on Versus 3 and the fact that the matchup down at lightweight was so one-sided.

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Free clips for Chris Sharma ?King Lines? climbing video?

Interested in downloading high-quality clips of Chris Sharma climbing? Today I checked out the website for Chris Sharma’s King Lines movie - and there’s a new addition! Early versions of the DVD didn’t feature all of the extras properly, so the website features downloadable clips from the extras. This won’t replace the need to buy the DVD, but [...]

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Lightweight crystal ball: The 2012 rankings

It's the deepest class in the world, so much so that the top of the 155-pound division could be turned on its ear by this time next year. UFC champion Frank Edgar escaped with his title after fighting to a draw against Gray Maynard at UFC 125. Edgar's a great fighter, but people doubt him because of his size and lack of finishing prowess. With challengers coming at him from all directions, will Edgar still be the No. 1 lightweight in the world in Apr. of 2012?

Maynard, Anthony Pettis, Gilbert Melendez and Jim Miller are probably all two wins away from being the undisputed top dog in the division.  With a hot 2011, Sean Sherk, Shinya Aoki, Melvin Guillard, Clay Guida, George Sotiropoulos and Evan Dunham could all force their way into the picture as well. Additional wild cards include Ben Henderson and Eddie Alvarez, if he can escape Bellator. Now that's depth.

Melendez certainly did his part last weekend against Tatsuya Kawajiri. He wasn't going to let judges screw up his first fight in front of Zuffa management. The Strikeforce lightweight champ made sure of that by unleashing a fury of elbows, knees and punches at Kawajiri.

Melendez is knocking at the UFC door for a fight against Edgar, Pettis, Maynard and the rest of the elite crew in the bigger fight promotion.

Melendez says his camp might be the best in the world. Looking at his competition with the "Skrap Pack," it's hard to disagree.

"It's discouraging in camp training with Nick [Diaz], Jake [Shields] and Nate [Diaz]," Melendez told HDNet's Inside MMA. "You question yourself, 'am I ready for this fight?' You know, you have these bad days. I'm getting smashed by these guys sometimes. And then you doubt yourself. And then you walk in there and you dominate, and then you realize that's how great your team is. We're evolving and we always constantly raise the bar against each other."

Yahoo!'s lead MMA writer Kevin Iole joined us to debate the future odds on an Edgar-Melendez fight and how he'd matchup against some of the other elite lightweights.

Here's my top 10 in Apr. of 2012:

1. Gilbert Melendez

2. Frank Edgar

3. Eddie Alvarez

4. Jim Miller

5. Anthony Pettis

6. Melvin Guillard

7. Gray Maynard

8. George Sotiropoulos

9. Ben Henderson

10. Evan Dunham

What's yours?

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Video analysis: Iole and Cofield talk Diaz being next for GSP

With few quality welterweights dotting the Strikeforce roster, how willing is Zuffa to allow Nick Diaz to fight lesser names in its smaller organization? The Strikeforce 170-pound champ won his 10th straight fight against Paul Daley on Saturday, so who's next?

Diaz has the well-rounded game to give UFC champ Georges St. Pierre a real run for his money. If GSP gets by Jake Shields at UFC, will the UFC quickly abandon the "business as usual" mantra that it pitched when it purchased Strikeforce and throw Diaz at the French-Canadian?

Yahoo!'s lead MMA writer Kevin Iole joined us to discuss Diaz's immediate future and the win over Daley.

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Strikeforce Diaz vs. Daley Predictions

by Michael David SmithIn what promises to be a highly entertaining fight card, Strikeforce is back in action Saturday night with its welterweight and lightweight titles on the line, and two more live fights that promise to be exciting. We've got the full preview right here.

What: Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley

Where: San Diego

When: Saturday, the Showtime televised card starts at 10 PM ET.

Predictions on the four televised fights below.

 

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