The upcoming April 17th Strikeforce CBS fight card is already taking shape with three championship bouts including a middleweight title fight between current champ Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson, a light heavyweight match-up between current champ Gegard Mousasi taking on King Mo Lawal, and lastly current champ Gilbert Melendez vs. DREAM champ Shinya Aoki.
Melendez will be putting his belt on the line for the first time since winning the title against Josh Thomson in December of 2009. Melendez holds an overall MMA record of 19-2 with wins over top competitors including Clay Guida, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Mitsuhiro Ishida and Thomson.
Aoki is known for his unique ground game, owning black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. The no. 2 lightweight in the world will look to shine in the United States as he prepares to face one of the toughest challengers in the world. Although Aoki understands the difficulty in defeating Melendez come April 17, the submission specialist plans on putting on a show for all American MMA fans.
