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.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Melendez-defends-belt-makes-case-to-be-No-1-li?urn=mma-wp1074

Matt Andersen Alex Andrade Jermaine Andrè Yoji Anjo

MMA Top 10 Lightweights: Gilbert Melendez Makes His Case

by Michael David SmithGilbert Melendez thinks he's the best lightweight in mixed martial arts. Is he right? I don't think so, not yet. But I sure would love to find out.

The best thing about the UFC buying Strikeforce is that it means we'll eventually see the champions of the respective promotions fighting each other. For now the mantra is "business as usual," but we all know it's just a matter of time before we see the best of Strikeforce inside the Octagon. And there might not be a better fight out there than Melendez taking on the top of the UFC lightweight division.

It will probably be 2012 before we get to see that: UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar has to fight Gray Maynard in May, and the winner of that fight is expected to fight the winner of the June Anthony Pettis-Clay Guida bout after that. But it sure would be fun to see Melendez retiring the Strikeforce belt to his trophy case and fighting for the UFC gold.

Find out where I think Melendez stacks up in the lightweight division below.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/13/mma-top-10-lightweights-gilbert-melendez-makes-his-case/

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves Andre Amade Dean Amasinger

Best Performance Of The Night: Zach Makovsky At Bellator 41

It?s that time once again, fans and friends. Another major MMA event has come and gone, and it?s time for my unofficial ?Best Performance of the Night? award. It was pretty tough to pick one single fighter to highlight, since Bellator 41 had three of its four televised fights end in dramatic stoppages. Daniel Straus, [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/04/17/best-performance-of-the-night-zach-makovsky-at-bellator-41

Dan Bobish Vagam Bodjukyan Kotetsu Boku Tony Bonello

Jones vs. Evans: Xtreme Couture coach Melanson would love to work with Rashad

The opinions are swirling on who comes out on top when Rashad Evans and Jon Jones step into the Octagon. The former teammates are on a collision course after Evans decided to leave, the only team he's known, Jackson's Submission Fighting in Albuquerque. Evans, who will challenge Jones for his UFC light heavyweight title, is training with camps in both Denver and Florida.

When we stopped by Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas to talk about this teammate versus teammate thing, the grappling coach Neil Melanson surprised us by saying he'd like to get Evans to Vegas.

"I feel my style of coaching is perfect for him," Melanson said (3:15 mark). "He's a wrestler and I've got a lot of experience with the wrestlers here. I think I can help him. He's really good already, but I would like to see him finish and I know he can finish on the ground."

From talking to some folks around Xtreme Couture it sounds like Jones' favorite status at minus-500 is a bit out of whack. Plenty of folks think he's got a good shot at taking the strap from the phenom.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Jones-vs-Evans-Xtreme-Couture-coach-Melanson-w?urn=mma-wp1446

Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein Tom Big Cat Erickson

Bellator 42 Results: A Fun Night Of Fights Means Another Solid Event On MTV2

Another week down, another live and weekly event from Bellator FC on MTV2. Today marked Bellator?s forty-second event, featuring both semifinal fights of their Season Four Light Heavyweight Tournament, a Bantamweight bout, a quick preliminary bout, and the Bellator debut of international star Ronnie Mann. And while it may not have been as fantastic as [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/04/23/bellator-42-results-a-fun-night-of-fights-means-another-solid-event-on-mtv2

Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein Tom Big Cat Erickson

Dethrone x Jason Ellis ?Loud As !#@?? T-shirt

Dethrone dedicates a new signature style to one of the most animated on-air personalities out there with the Jason Ellis “Loud As !#@?” T-shirt. Taking a step away from the Dethrone fighter T-shirt collection which includes walkout tees for many of today’s top UFC fighters like Cain Velasquez, Jose Aldo and Josh Koscheck, the “Loud [...]

Source: http://fighterxfashion.com/dethrone-x-jason-ellis-loud-as-t-shirt/

Roman Zentsov Nobuhiko Takada Yoshihiro Takayama Daiju Takase

Ultimate Fighter's Ramsey Nijem Talks Tension on Team Dos Santos

by Michael David SmithRamsey Nijem is a contestant on this season of the Ultimate Fighter.On this week's episode of The Ultimate Fighter, Junior dos Santos had some trouble in the ranks of his coaching staff, and he had to reprimand his assistant, Lew Polley, for pushing his fighters too hard in practice.

Ramsey Nijem, a member of Team Dos Santos, said in his weekly interview with MMAFighting.com that he was glad dos Santos said something, because Polley had been taking his intense coaching style to extreme lengths.

Nijem also discussed the new member of Team Dos Santos and this week's fight between Len Bentley and Ryan McGillivray, and he offered an interesting preview of his own (not quite) nude scene in next week's episode. The full interview is below.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/14/ultimate-fighters-ramsey-nijem-talks-tension-on-team-dos-santos/

Dos Caras Jr Phil Cardella Roan Jucao Carneiro Shane The Engineer Carwin

'Like Water' Documentary a 3-D Look at Anderson Silva's Life in the Spotlight

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"Like Water," the documentary film about UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, is like martial arts itself, a focus on journey as much as destination. The film follows Silva during arguably the most turbulent time of his fighting life, from just after his baffling performance against Demian Maia last April through his career-defining moment in a fifth-round comeback win against Chael Sonnen four months later.

The film, which just had its world premiere at the renowned Tribeca Film Festival, is a step forward not only for Silva, but for mixed martial arts, which too often depends on manufactured drama as a selling point for its main events. Director Pablo Croce strips away any pretense and gives a three-dimensional look at the human side of one of MMA's signature athletes. In a sport that is often depicted as cartoonish or dismissed as a B-level fad by surface-grazing mainstream media, it is one of the first layered, mature examinations of a top fighter and his world. For some, it might come as a revelation that fighters are real people with real lives.

Central to the drama is Silva as a family man. For the Sonnen camp, he left Brazil for two months to live in Los Angeles and train with Team Black House. To do that, he leaves behind his family -- his wife, three sons and two daughters -- and spends much of the time pining for them. At one point before the Sonnen fight, he is asked what his goal is. "To come back home in one piece," he says without hesitation. For a champion at the top of his game, in the midst of a record title run, it's a candid admission, one rooted in his love of family, noting that to them, winning or losing is not important. "To them, I will always be champion," he says.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/23/like-water-documentary-a-3-d-look-at-anderson-silvas-life-in/

Mikhail Avetisyan Luiz Azeredo Luciano Azevedo Ba Te er