Three "Strikeforce: Nashville" Promo Videos and One Discursion

Uno, dos, tres championship MMA fights!  "Strikeforce: Nashville" is only a hop, skip, and a bad country song away.

I can't get enough of the premiere fights that present the unique opportunity to break down the looming wall that separates the stateside MMA fighters from those overseas, especially when the match unquestionably features one of the best lightweights in the world.

If left unsupervised in America, Shinya Aoki will more than likely be mistaken for a misplaced and malnourished preteen before being lead by the hand to the nearest Starbucks by a concerned citizen with the intention of reconnecting him with his grief-stricken mother by making an announcement over the loudspeaker.  If responsibly escorted, Aoki will surely isolate himself and pray to Fedor's sweater that his American MMA debut against Gilbert Melendez will be unhindered by the sheer nudity of his prehensile limbs, which will not be protruding from the rainbow-banana pants he is known for proudly sporting.

I predict that 20% of the hotel staff that randomly encounters Aoki in the days leading up to the fight will be accidentally gogoplata'd and subsequently flipped the bird by Aoki's phantasmagoric aura in honor of the fallen spandex.

I can't wait for Aoki vs. Melendez.  This fight will be epic regardless of the outcome:  epically amazing, epically disappointing, or epically controversial.  Melendez has matured as a fighter, improved his standing swordplay by degrees, and will assume the role of the underdog with something to prove and nothing to lose.  Aoki basically bears the entire weight of Japanese MMA atop his shoulders like the Greek titan Atlas held up the heavens.  Both Melendez and number two Strikeforce lightweight Josh Thomson have been pining to be classed amongst the elite 155'ers in the UFC and DREAM, while Aoki has vowed to prove that Japan is still a force to be reckoned with in the sport.

Legend has it that if you either power down your Ipod or turn your hearing aid up and listen quietly, you can hear King Mo talking smack-- no matter where you are on earth. 

That's just not Gegard Mousasi's style (except for that time he called Paulo Filho a little donkey on steroids), but we are all fine with that because he's exciting as hell and proved he was a true phenom when he sent Babalu, who was the best opponent he'd ever faced, into the spirit world in a matter of mere seconds.  Although Mo is an accomplished wrestler who has mellifluously adapted his striking game to match, Mousasi is the superior technician both standing and off his back, and this tilt will quickly assume a boxer versus brawler flavor.  This will be an emphatic collision between two of the fastest rising stars in the game, with light-heavyweight gold on the line.

Finally, grisly veteran Dan "Hollywood" Henderson will get his feet wet under the Strikeforce banner by vying for Cesar Gracie product Jake Shields' middleweight championship belt.    Neither ground specialist can be constrained to one weight class, as Hendo's MMA clout encompasses 185-205 pounds, while Shields stakes his claim to 170-185.  Both are top ranked in each of their dually respective divisions.  No longer can we cry, "no top competition in Strikeforce for Shields!"  Jake wanted a top guy, and landed a leviathan.  Many questions will soon be answered about Jake Shields.

What's that?  Videos, you say?  Fine.  There's one up video way up yonder, and two down here.  Source:  MMAPayout