If Shinya Aoki Wins Today, Can Strikeforce Make Aoki-Alvarez II Happen?

With a nickname like “The Master of Flying Submissions,” the world of mixed martial arts has come to expect the unbelievable from Shinya Aoki , the consensus No. 2 lightweight on the planet. 

With a black belt in Judo as well as Brazilian Jiu Jituzu, this former Japanese police officer-turned-MMA-fighter has 23 career wins and just four losses.  14 of those wins came by submission and 12 of those submission victories came in the very first round.  Aoki’s submission game is amazing to behold, and you really have to see it to believe it.

Aoki currently holds three titles: He is the current DREAM lightweight champion. He is the current Shooto middleweight champion. He is the current WAMMA lightweight champion.

Among Shinya’s career list of victims is the current Bellator Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez , the man that Aoki beat to claim the WAMMA title.  Alvarez is one of the most well-rounded fighters in all of MMA, with excellent boxing and a solid ground game.  Aoki finished that fight by submission and made it look too easy.

It should come as no surprise that Eddie Alvarez will want to avenge his embarrassing loss to Aoki. “The Silent Assassin” is not accustomed to losing, with a career record of 19-2 and wins over elite fighters like Joachim Hansen and Tatsuya Kawajiri.

Without a doubt, Alvarez is one of the five best lightweights on the planet.  If Bellator and Alvarez want to stake the claim that "The Silent Assassin" is the very best in the world, avenging the embarrassing loss to Shinya Aoki is right at the top of Eddie's "to do" list.

This becomes a tale of two champions from the two biggest new promotions around—Bellator and Strikeforce.  Both Alvarez and Aoki are ranked in the top five in the world .  With two big name champions, both Bellator and Strikeforce can gain a lot of legitimacy for their promotion if their man wins.

Aoki and Alvarez have four world championship titles between them, and I would be surprised if at least one or more isn’t on the line.  But even if none of the titles are on the line, this is the lightweight match up that this fan want to see! 

Scott Coker (Strikeforce CEO) and Bjorn Rebney (Bellator CEO) please put this fight together!  This would be a superfight for the ages!