Aoki, Melendez and the Battle for No. 1 at 155

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- When Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez defends his crown against Shinya Aoki at Strikeforce “Nashville” this Saturday at the Bridgestone Arena, many believe more than just a belt will be at stake.

In wake of B.J. Penn’s stunning unanimous decision defeat to Frankie Edgar at UFC 112, the top spot in the world at 155 pounds appears to be open for the first time in more than two years. Melendez, who defeated Josh Thomson in a memorable five-round encounter in December, understands the magnitude of the opportunity being placed before him.

“I feel Shinya is number one in the world right now,” Melendez said during a Thursday press conference. “I still think B.J.’s number two. It seems like the three through 15 spots [in the lightweight division] are up for grabs. Shinya has obviously put himself above the rest, but I’ve done a lot in this sport. I’d like to think I’d be a top three guy if I pull this off.”

Aoki’s Dream championship will not be on the line in his stateside debut. According to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, the fact that the two promotions carry different rules and compete inside different structures, Strikeforce in a cage and Dream in a ring, made a unification bout impractical. However, Coker left the door open to rematch between Aoki and Melendez in Japan, in which case the Dream champion’s belt would be on the line.

“It’s something we’ve already discussed with Dream officials,” said Coker, who admitted the Aoki-Melendez matchup took time to develop.

Hiroyuki Kato, the head producer for Dream, believed the timing was right to allow Aoki to branch out into Strikeforce. The chance to compete in primetime on major network television also helped spur the move. Aoki expects to defend his Dream title against Tatsuya Kawajiri sometime this summer.

“It’s CBS prime time,” Kato said. “We need Aoki in Japan later this year, so the springtime was the right timing.”

Kato thinks Aoki has a great deal of pressure resting on his shoulders.

“To pick the Japanese MMA up again, the CBS prime time is a big deal and it has big meaning,” Kato said. “If we lose, even though Aoki didn’t say it, his back is against the wall. If he loses, the whole Japanese MMA will go down. He must have big pressure, even though he will not say that.

“In Japan, Aoki stated to Japanese media that he’d fight for Strikeforce to get the Japanese MMA back,” Kato added. “The implied term is ‘one out of six billion.’ So, Aoki said he would fight for Strikeforce to get number one out of [six] billion back to Japan.”

Melendez claimed he did not feel slighted by the fact that his belt and not Aoki’s would be on the line in the Music City. For the affable Californian, opportunity outweighs the risk.

“I get to fight one of the top two [lightweight] fighters in the world and the number one star in Japan,” Melendez said. “It’s a great opportunity for me. I have no reason to bitch. I understand why his belt isn’t on the line. I feel like I have a lot on the line. He has a lot on the line, too.”

The mercurial Aoki, who has not competed since be broke Mizuto Hirota’s arm with a brutal submission on New Year’s Eve, was expectedly distant during the press conference. When asked if he thought Penn’s loss opened the door for him to be viewed as the world’s premier lightweight, he was short and direct.

“I don’t care about B.J. Penn or the UFC,” he said through a translator. “I’m focused on this fight.”