Rumours of Shinya Aoki vs Gilbert Melendez NYE bout nixed
Fans of Japanese mixed martial arts are in for some disappointment as it was revealed on Wednesday 24 November that a highly anticipated rematch between Gilbert Melendez and Shinya Aoki won’t in fact be happening
on New Year’s Eve as had been rumoured.
Fighting and Entertainment Group, which puts on the annual 31 December Dynamite! card in Japan, told mmafighting.com that plans for the bout were off the table and that it likely wouldn’t happen.
"It's not a problem with anyone," Mike Kogan, f*g’s main American representative, told the website. "It's just a deal couldn't happen. Everyone is very upset."
f*g owns the DREAM mixed martial arts promotion, the largest in Japan. Aoki is DREAM’s lightweight (155lb) champion. In April, in a major co-promotional coup, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker was able to arrange
a clash between Aoki and Melendez, Strikeforce’s lightweight champion at Strikeforce’s 17 April event.
The two were considered the two best lightweights not in the Ultimate Fighting Championships, and came into the fight at fairly close odds. But Melendez, apart from almost getting caught in a triangle choke
in the first round, largely dominated the five-round bout, punishing Aoki.
But fans since then have been calling for Melendez to travel to Japan for a rematch, where the MMA rules are different. Notably, the fight would take place in a ring rather than a cage, would have a longer
first round, and would allow Aoki to wear his trademark grappling pants, all elements which could favour Aoki. After Aoki’s destruction of Tatsuya Kawajiri over the summer at a DREAM event, it’s only reinforced the notion that Aoki would have a much better
chance in the ring. Given that Dynamite! is generally Japan’s largest MMA show, it had seemed a natural fit for the fight.
Kogan reportedly told mmafighting.com that there was still a small chance the fight could happen, and that if not they would seek another opponent for Aoki.
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