Watch #fullfight Anthony Pettis vs. Gilbert Melendez - #UFC181 #stream #video

Anthony Pettis vs. Gilbert Melendez - UFC 181


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Watch Free #RT Fight of the Night Diego Sanchez vs. Gilbert Melendez - #UFC166 " Best fight of all time " Joe Rogen ?

#UFCFOX7 UFC Pink Sheet Saturday * who will be on the list ? HENDERSON vs MELENDEZ #MIR vs CORMIER

Pink Slip Saturdays , where Adam will write about five fighters on each card who could literally be fighting for their job, given UFC president Dana White’s recent comments about cutting 100 fighters from the roster.* *Jorge Masvidal* *Opponent at UFC on FOX 7: *Tim Means *MMA Record:* 23-7 (0-0 UFC) *Why he could be cut:* I feel bad putting Masvidal on this list considering he’s the only fighter coming off a win that will be mentioned, but the fact of the matter is the UFC’s lightweight division has too many fighters in it,

Watch Live UFC on FOX 7: Official Weigh-in

Strikeforce - Recap: Barnett vs. Cormier and Melendez vs. Thomson

The pair would trade ownership of the strap in their next encounter, after which Thomson's momentum faltered through a rash of ongoing injuries while Melendez ascended all the way up to the #3 spot in the consensus world lightweight rankings. Since their last match in 2009, Melendez has been flawless (decisions over Aoki and Jorge Masvidal; finished Kawajiri by TKO in the rematch) while Thomson has won 3 of 4 against excellent competition -- but definitely seems to have lost some of the spring in his step.
I don't think Thomson has ever received enough credit. In his prime, he was a downright mean S.O.B. with voracious wrestling and rapid-fire kickboxing. The magic ingredient of his style was the ability to explode offensively and generate velocity on his lightning-fast combinations and powerful takedowns. Additionally, as he did in his win over Melendez, Thomson could uphold a furious pace for a full 5-round fight.

That high level of athleticism, conditioning and explosiveness has been lacking lately, and that's exactly why his past injures are a hot topic of conversation. Thomson came out like his old, boisterous self in the first round against Pat Healy, Gesias Cavalcante and K.J. Noons, but fizzled out in the 2nd and 3rd. He's still a risk-taking scrapper, fully competent in all phases of combat and exciting as hell when he's at his best.

"El Nino" looks better in every performance. He was always a pressure-puncher and overbearing wrestler, but his striking displays against Tatsuya Kawajiri and Jorge Masvidal showed a substantial improvement in boxing technique. Melendez was clipping with short and tight punches that packed a big wallop, and also took complete ownership of the pace with agile, in-and-out footwork and excellent timing.

He and Frankie Edgar are the rare type who almost seem to increase in activity as the fight progresses -- even after 20 minutes of energized combat. He appears to be more confident and dominant than ever before. In his loss to Thomson, he struggled to keep up with Thomson's intelligent phase-shifting. Thomson put leather all over him early and often, threw in beautiful level changes when they were trading in the pocket to take Gil down, mixed up his strike selection and fought tooth and nail for 25 minutes.

That's the strategy Thomson needs to replicate and I just don't think he's got it in him. Both fighters are notoriously difficult to put away -- the sole stoppage loss between the two is Yves Edwards' jumping roundhouse kick on Thomson -- so I expect a big gut- and heart-check for Thomson to avoid being overwhelmed when he slows down in later rounds.

Strikeforce: Barnett vs Cormier Weigh-Ins: Main Card

Gilbert Melendez vs Jorge Masvidal Full Fight Analysis / Review

Gilbert Melendez vs Jorge Masvidal Full Fight Analysis / Review

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Uploaded by rkotheinfamousnwo on Dec 17, 2011

Gilbert Melendez won a 5 Round unanimous decision to retain his Strikefroce lightweight championship

MAIN CARD on Showtime:Champ Gilbert Melendez (155) vs. Jorge Masvidal (155) - LW title fightChamp Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (145) vs. Hiroko Yamanaka (145) - women's FW title fight Gegard Mousasi (206) vs. Ovince St. Preux (206) Billy Evangelista (156) vs. K.J. Noons (156)PRELIMS:Caros Fodor (156) vs. Justin Wilcox (156) Roger Bowling (170) vs. Jerron Peoples (180.5)* - 179-pound catchweight fight Devin Cole (248) vs. Gabriel Salinas-Jones (265) Fernando Gonzalez (186) vs. Eddie Mendez (186)Chris Brown (170) vs. Herman Terrado (170.5)*Additional time to make 179 pounds

Strikeforce: Melendez vs Masvidal Weigh-In Video
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Gilbert Melendez retains Strikeforce belt vs Masvidal, Cyborg wins in 16 seconds
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Gilbert Melendez joining UFC ?

It was an exciting night for Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez on Saturday in Washington, D.C. … and he wasn’t even fighting.

The No. 1 ranked lightweight in the world was informed that UFC president Dana White announced Melendez was headed to the UFC sooner rather than later, and they wanted the current Strikeforce champion in the UFC right now.

While no formal offers have come across the table just yet

Top 155 - pound division Lightweight mma rankings

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?


top 10 in Apr. of 2012:

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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


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Strikeforce - Gilbert Melendez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri

Strikeforce - Gilbert Melendez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri

Diaz vs. Daley Weigh-in Video

From San Diego, CA, the official weigh-in from Strikeforce Diaz vs. Daley. Headliners Nick Diaz and Paul Daley, plus Gilbert Melendez, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Gegard Mousasi, Keith Jardine, Shinya Aoki, and Lyle Beerbohm.

future of Japanese mixed martial arts rides of Aoki / Watch The official weigh-in event for Strikeforce

Strain slightly and you may hear Hiroyuki Kato muttering Saturday night in Nashville, Tenn.
Mr. Aoki, I watched Kazushi Sakuraba. I knew Kazushi Sakuraba. Kazushi Sakuraba was a friend of mine. Mr. Aoki, you're no Kazushi Sakuraba.
Music City. Bridgestone Arena. A short rib's throw from the Ryman Auditorium. Foreign soil in a foreign country. Did it really come to this for the 37-year-old Kato, considered by many to be the most powerful executive in Japanese mixed martial arts? For Shinya Aoki, the standard-bearer, the current and future? For an industry and a country they cherish equally.
Aoki, 26, 5-foot-11, disdainful, proud, simple, stands burdened by the weight of expectation and anticipation. Slender surly young man, what role will you grasp? Savior? Can you resurrect what once was? Or are you the final nail? The one that couldn't get it done? The reason a feared man gargled difficult words under his breath?
"I haven't been nervous like this in a long time," Kato said from beneath a thinning, graying flattop. "It's very important."
* * *
In the U.S., scouts tirelessly scour every corner of the country in search of the next Clemens or Jordan or Elway. They do this because sport is big business. Because if they don't, someone else will.
Things aren't so different in other parts of the world, which is how Sotaro Shinoda came to know the name Shinya Aoki, a skinny kid with a hefty reputation for finding ippon (finishes) in his high school judo matches.
Shinoda worked alongside Kato and others at Dream Stage Entertainment, the parent company for the Pride Fighting Championships, and kept close tabs on Aoki as he passed through to university life. They watched him become a police officer, before he changed his mind. They watched him step into the ring for the first time. They watched, waited, and not quite three years into his career, still skinny, still searching for definitive endings, Aoki received an offer from Kato's management company, Real Entertainment, to compete in Pride, which in 2006 was the world's dominant MMA organization.
Aoki was the future, the next Sakuraba -- a master showman and the major reason Japanese audiences were so attached to Pride in its early years.
"Simply, he made the MMA business in Japan," Aoki said of Sakuraba. "Japanese fans will always remember him."
Yet less than a year after Aoki debuted in Pride's Bushido series, the company fell under serious pressure when reports linked its management to figures in the Japanese and Korean underworld. Coinciding with UFC's ascension in the U.S., the sport's power base shifted almost overnight from Japan to North America. Deep in debt and facing mounting public scrutiny, Pride CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara sold the company in 2007 to UFC majority owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta.
"That's when things became difficult to navigate because the power structure changed," said Strikeforce president and CEO Scott Coker, whose strong ties to the Japanese fight scene helped maneuver Aoki (23-4) into a cage on American soil against Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez (17-2). "Since Pride left there's been a void. I know fans are still hurt by the demise of Pride. It basically went away. It was like a subculture in Japan. They had a ton of fans. It was something that set the bar."
With an aging, battered Sakuraba taking a step back and Pride lightweight champion Takanori Gomi burning bridges with Kato, Aoki was given the chance to stand as Japan's preeminent fighter. The new platform, a congealing of old Pride and K-1 factions, was called Dream. Aoki has gone 9-2 in the organization, and currently stands as Dream's lightweight champion.
* * *
On Dec. 31, 2009, Japanese MMA was in a bad place. Dream was chugging along, pulling mediocre to moderately acceptable television ratings. Much of the top international talent that marked Pride's heyday had left for America. There wasn't any real momentum behind MMA anymore. Dream was coming off like a faux Pride and upstarts such as Sengoku, formed as a reaction to the sale of Pride to the UFC, seemed incapable of finding stability in a contracting market.
Combine that with what many believe to be the worst economic downturn in Japan's history, and it's no surprise that the MMA industry is diminished to the point where it may soon require a pressing of the reset button.
New Year's Eve at the Saitama Super Arena, a miraculous venue housing many of Japan's best fight cards, Aoki said he was possessed. Literally, by a demon.
Spurned on by Kato -- who hammered into Aoki just how important it was that he defeat Sengoku lightweight champion Mizuto Hirota in the rubber match of a best-of-nine series pitting the promotions' fighters -- the 26-year-old submission wizard grotesquely and unmercifully snapped Hirota's right arm in just over two minutes. Aoki rose to his feet, looked down on his victim and gave him the finger.
Months later, Aoki's decimation of Hirota is a piece of the Dream champion's mythology. During the promotion for his bout against Melendez, he repeatedly insisted he doesn't hold any regrets, nor does he maintain a sense of responsibility.
Aoki has tired of answering questions about Hirota. He doesn't see what all the fuss is about.
"I can't deny that it will happen again," Aoki expressed in baritone voice which takes on the raspy tinge of a post-March Madness basketball coach.
Who is Shinya Aoki?
For starters, he's isn't Kazushi Sakuraba. He isn't a darling of the Japanese television networks. The bout with Melendez won't even be televised back home. (It's relegated to highlights on Japan's national sports news broadcasts.)
He lives frugally, happy to compete and teach. Aoki's parents control his bank account, from which his mother provides a monthly allowance. Aoki's manager, Masaki Hasegawa, the president and owner of Koubudo, a chain of MMA related stores throughout Japan, pays him a regular salary via Dream that is separate to his fight purses. Aoki doesn't watch television. He doesn't have Internet at home either, only in the gym, which is where he spends most of his time.
"MMA is his biggest concern and interest," Hasegawa said. "He doesn't have anything else besides MMA. His only interest is to be stronger than he was yesterday."
Said Aoki: "I dedicate my life to fighting."
* * *
Hiroyuki Kato peered down at Aoki, who was sitting at a large round table surrounded by a dozen or so countrymen.
"I think Aoki knows" the immediate future of Japanese MMA is riding on his performance, Kato said. "This is a big deal, a Japanese fighter on CBS prime time. I expect that many circumstances will change, and people will become encouraged. I hope this fight will change everything for the better."
Asked if he's comfortable in the role of a next-generation Sakuraba, Aoki confirmed he was.
"Our generation has to lead Japanese MMA," he responded. "I feel I'm representing Dream and also Japan."
And what if Kato's prized fighter fails in his bid to capture Melendez's Strikeforce title?
"I don't know what happens," the powerful manager and producer admitted. "Probably, we have to start from the beginning. Even under these circumstances we will never give up to get MMA back to where it was in Japan."
The official weigh-in event for Strikeforce: "Nashville" got underway today (April 16) from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
All fighters set to compete on the CBS "Saturday Night Fights" card made weight with the exception of Andrew Uhrich, who came in a measley half-pound over the welterweight limit. He currently has two hours to lose the extra weight.
Despite the percolating tensions between light heavyweights Gegard Mousasi and "King Mo" Lawal, things remained fairly even-tempered throughout the affair.
And Dan Henderson looked to be having the time of his life.
Here are the complete Strikeforce: "Nashville" weigh in results:

Watch Live on CBS Saturday Night @ 9pm EST.....

Main event:
185 lbs.: Jake Shields (184 3/4) vs. Dan Henderson (185)
Main card (Televised):
205 lbs.: Gegard Mousasi (204 1/2) vs. Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (204 1/4)
155 lbs.: Gilbert Melendez (154 1/2) vs. Shinya Aoki (154 1/2)
Under card (May not be broadcast):
185 lbs.: Jason "Mayhem" Miller (185) vs. Tim Stout (186)
170 lbs.: Zach Underwood (179 1/2) vs. Hunter Worsham (180 1/2)
185 lbs.: Josh Schockman (205 1/4) vs. Cale Yarbrough (203 3/4)
125 lbs.: Dustin Ortiz (125) vs. Justin Pennington (124 1/4)
170 lbs.: Andrew Uhrich (171 1/2) vs. Dustin West (169 1/2)
205 lbs.: Chris Hawk (205 3/4) vs. Ovince St. Preux (205 1/2)
145 lbs.: Thomas Campbell (145 3/4) vs. Cody Floyd (145 1/4)

Strikeforce Nashville Weigh-ins

  Tim Stout vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller weigh-in video!

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CUNG LE VS SCOTT SMITH! KO HIGHLIGHTs and Gilbert Melendez fights Josh Thomson highlights & Strikeforce:Evolution Lightweight Championship fights

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King Mo Lawal vs Mike Whitehead fight video



CUNG LE VS SCOTT SMITH! KO HIGHLIGHT



If Josh Thomson was going to predict a scenario in which he’d lose his Strikeforce lightweight championship, it probably would have gone pretty close to what happened Saturday night at the HP Pavilion.



Thomson lost what is already being talked about as a match of the year candidate, losing to someone that he long considered a very good friend, Gilbert Melendez.

Melendez (17-2), who became Strikeforce interim champion in April while Thomson was on the sidelines all year after breaking his ankle twice, in April and August, won the five-round fight via unanimous decision on scores of 49-47, 49-46 and 49-46.

More From Dave MeltzerThomson-Melendez rematch worth the wait Dec 18, 2009 Coker reflects on Strikeforce's past, future Dec 15, 2009 ADVERTISEMENT

The win avenged Melendez’s five-round loss of the title to Thomson in the same arena last June. Thomson agreed to give Melendez a title rematch that night, but due to injuries, it took a year and a half for it to happen.

Both Melendez and Thomson thought Saturday’s fight was at a slower pace than the original fight, but to the 9,362 spectators it looked to be the opposite. The first fight figured on paper to be a battle between two evenly-matched well-rounded fighters, but instead it was a one-sided domination by Thomson.

This time, while Melendez clearly won the fight, it was everything expected out of the first fight and then more. There were a number of exchanges where both men just stood there toe-to-toe firing punches. Most of those exchanges saw both men stand there and absorb the damage until the fifth round, when Thomson was tiring and needed a finish and it was Melendez, who got the better of it, putting Thomson down. But Thomson came back late in the round with a takedown and getting Melendez’s back, before the men stood and traded big shots as the fight ended to bring the crowd to its feet.

“The punch in the second round didn’t hurt, but the punch in the fourth round (actually the fifth) was a punch to the head that knocked the wind out of me,” said Thomson. “In the second (the knockdown), I didn’t really feel hurt.”

While his face was all marked up, Thomson was all smiles when it was over, praising Melendez, a former good friend and training partner.

“We talked at weigh-ins and said we planned to have the fight of the night,” said Thomson (16-3, 1 no-contest). “I don’t think either of us saw our stock drop with a fight like this. I’m proud of Gilbert. He came back from a loss like a champion. I want to let him enjoy the night.”

“It was a war,” said Melendez, who became the first two-time champion in the four-year history of Strikeforce as a mixed martial arts promotion. “I’m ready for any champions from the UFC or Dream.”

Melendez noted that the fight was not fun, and at no time was he thinking that he may have been in the middle of the match of the year. He was only thinking he was sore and was glad for it to be over. He also was mad that he felt he and Thomson, by not being in the UFC, weren’t getting their fair respect in the MMA world, noting when he saw ratings where he wasn’t in the top ten, and Thomson was in the lower rungs of the top ten.

While there was immediate talk of a third match, which is likely to happen at some point, Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker talked after the show about going to Japan for the New Year’s Eve show and trying to put together Melendez vs. Dream lightweight champion Shinya Aoki and Thomson vs. Dream’s Tatsuya Kawajiri for the next show in San Jose. Although with the nature of the top Japanese fighters having to be available for the big events in Japan, and the availability of buildings and Showtime dates, the stars have to be aligned perfectly for such matches to happen.

“Gilbert won because he was the better man tonight,” said Thomson. “I want to make it clear so people don’t make excuses.”

Thomson said that all week, but it had been 15 months since he last fought, and his injuries didn’t allow him to run in training, which could have made the difference in the later rounds. The difference between the two fights? In the original, Thomson was the matador, teasing Melendez at every opportunity. This time, Melendez, who blamed himself for not training hard enough for the first fight, was in better condition.

After the frantic exchanges, and particularly late, Melendez’s conditioning seemed to be the difference. The wrestling of both men largely neutralized the other, but this time Melendez was able to connect on a far greater percentage of his punches.

“I trained for five rounds and expected to go a hard five rounds,” said Thomson.

On most any other night, people would be talking almost exclusively about Scott Smith’s comeback performance in ending the unbeaten record of local favorite Cung Le in what was the show’s main event.

Le (6-1) was the star the Strikeforce promotion, before MMA was legal in California and it was a kickboxing organization, was built around during the 1990s. An unbeaten San Shou fighter (a sport that combined kickboxing with takedowns, but no ground work), dominated the entire fight. He scored three knockdowns, and befuddled Smith with his usual array with side kicks and spinning kicks that are only supposed to work on the movie set, and not in MMA fights.

But it was evident even as he was dominating Smith that he was breathing heavily, particularly when he tried to slow the fight down in the second round, holding Smith against the cage in an attempt to regain his wind.

Le, now 37, hadn’t fought since March 29, 2008, and like so many fighters in the past who ventured into the movie world, came back and was missing the edge that he had when he was younger.

Like his classic fight in April with Benji Radach, Smith came back from almost certain defeat with a Hail Mary like finish, a hard left that suddenly put Le in trouble. After putting Le down a second time, after a few punches on the ground, referee John McCarthy stopped the fight.

“He caught me with a punch,” said Le immediately after the fight. I did my best. I fought my heart out and he fought his heart out. He just caught me with a punch. You win some and you lose some.”

The key blow was a left hook that came out of nowhere.

“My left hook is really my best punch eve though people think it’s my right,” said Smith. “He was waiting for the right and I brought the left hook in and caught him.”

“I think maybe I need someone to beat the hell out of me before I go out there,” said Smith (17-6). “I almost always lose the first round.”

Smith, who has made a career of providing memorable knockouts, one in UFC against Pete Spratt that is considered one of the greatest finishes in the history of that organization, the Radach fight, and this, given how badly he was losing the fight and was nearly stopped, being another one.

After Le’s first knockdown, he pummeled Smith with hard punches on the ground as Smith just tried to cover up. He blocked some punches and others were getting through. Many, if not most referees would have stopped it, and McCarthy told Smith he’d better get out of trouble, and the urgency of the situation got him back to his feet.

In the television opener of the Showtime card, Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal (6-0), a natural middleweight fighting as a 218-pound heavyweight, finished veteran Mike Whitehead (24-7) after knocking him down and finishing him with punches on the ground in 3:08 of the first round.

Mo, who came to the cage with a group of dancing girls, wearing a crown, and walking under an umbrella, was originally scheduled to face Whitehead at light heavyweight. However, Whitehead, who in the past has cut from as heavy as 275 pounds to 205, asked for the fight at heavyweight and came in at 261 pounds.

The U.S. debut of former Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (11-2, 1 no contest) was also successful, stopping former top five middleweight Matt Lindland (21-7) with an arm triangle submission at 4:18 of the first round.yahoo.com

Thoughts on the fights ??