Emotional Aoki submits Beerbohm at Strikeforce

Japanese fight favorite Shinya Aoki started Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley with a bang on Saturday night in San Diego, submitting Lyle "Fancypants" Beerbohm in less than two minutes.

Despite a low, defensive stance, Aoki was able to take Beerbohm down early. Beerbohm had no takedown defense. Aoki then followed with a rear naked choke, switching it to a neck crank. After throwing a body triangle, he cranked Beerbohm's neck until he tapped at 1:33 in the first round.

Aoki, one of two Japanese fighters on Strikeforce's main card,  was emotional as his name was announced as the winner. Because of the devastating events in Japan and training for his fight, Aoki has still not met his newborn child. He now gets to go home a winner on a four-fight win streak.

Beerbohm has lost his second bout in a row. He dropped a decision to Pat Healy in February and now has a record of 15-2.

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Gilbert Melendez Makes His Case as World's No. 1 Lightweight

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For years, No. 1 has been a guess, an argument, a debate, and nothing more. But in this brave, new world, we move closer than ever to getting our answer. It will never be final, of course. Even when you have a dominant champion, there is always someone else on the way up, someone who plants doubt in your mind. But we're at least finally heading in the right direction. With the recent Zuffa-Strikeforce deal, we have 95 percent of the world's best fighters under the same umbrella, and at some point in the near future, they'll actually get in the cage together and fight.

Right now, it's something like a civil war, two sides who need to be unified for the good of everyone involved, for both the people fighting and those waiting for resolution. Until then we'll keep guessing as soldiers, err... fighters like Gilbert Melendez fire off their best ammunition, both physical and verbal.

The first man to defend a title in our new era, the Strikeforce lightweight champion wasted little time in voicing what was already on everyone's minds.

"I'll tell you what, I think it's time we unify some titles," Melendez said. "Who wants to see me fight for that UFC title? Let's unify them in my hexagon. I'm the No. 1 lightweight in the world, baby. I'm coming for the spot."

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Phil Davis chuckles when told Jones-Evans betting odds

You beat up a sluggish Mauricio Rua, stop a New Jersey robber and appear on "The Tonight Show," and all hell breaks loose on the MMA betting front.

The UFC's newest mega-star, Jon Jones has definitely caught the attention of the public. As a result, his value in the Octagon may be a bit overvalued. Some off-shore books have already set the odds for a Jones-Rashad Evans fight. The champ is as high as a minus-525 favorite.

Phil Davis trained with Jones back in the day and knows the advantages of working with someone can have mentally.

Larry Pepe of ProMMARadio recently told Davis about Jones being a 5-to-1 favorite over a former training partner in Evans.

A few updates on the teammate versus teammate front. Georges St. Pierre, another Greg Jackson fighter, thinks the situation is odd and says he wouldn't have taken the fight.

"It's a pretty weird situation right now," the UFC welterweight champion told The Canadian Press. "I don't know what to say. Me, I would not fight a friend but it happens sometimes that I have two friends that are fighting each other. It's kind of an awkward situation."

Gilbert Melendez and Nick Diaz were asked recently about fighting teammates and both reacted strongly.

Diaz said Jones and Evans aren't really training partner and snapped when asked about fighting his brother, Nate.

"They're not real training partners though," Diaz said about Jones and Evans. "You don't understand, they're like 10 years apart for one and they didn't grow up training together. That guy's just brand new into the sport. He's just doing whatever, they've got him busy making photo shoots and press conferences, and conference calls and all this."

"That's what they've got them doing and they're not focused on what's important to them in life. I've got what works, and I've got what's got me there and that's my team. That's a disgusting thought to have to fight my brother. I don't even appreciate being asked about that," Diaz said.

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Showtime Hits With UFC-Strikeforce Purchase, Misses With In-Cage Action

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Gegard Mousasi and Keith Jardine battled to a draw at Diaz vs. Daley.Saturday night's Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley card was the first major event on Showtime since the UFC purchased Strikeforce, and it was a good opportunity to see how Showtime would handle its MMA broadcasts now that the premium cable channel is in business with a promotion that had previously been a rival.

Overall, I thought Showtime did a solid job of handling the UFC's purchase of Strikeforce. But once it was time for the fighters to step into the cage, the coverage of Saturday night's biggest controversy -- the Gegard Mousasi vs. Keith Jardine draw -- left something to be desired.

Let's start with the good: Showtime handled the UFC's purchase of Strikeforce appropriately by tackling it at the outset. It's a major story that deserved the upfront treatment it got.

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