I’m all about Strikeforce, but WTF!?! Thompson/Melendez II?

MMAjunkie recently confirmed that Josh Thomson will make his first Strikeforce lightweight title defense against the guy he originally beat to win the belt, Gilbert Melendez.  I have a couple problems with this horseshit decision and I don’t think I’m the only one:

• Firstly, when the two men fought back in 2008, it was a one sided ass-kicking where Gilbert showed little offense for the entire 25 goddamn minutes.
• Gilbert hasn’t done anything since their first fight to get himself back on his winning ways, who the fuck honestly thinks the guy deserves a chance to fight for a title he basically handed to Thomson?

Now, I’m sure the reason he’s getting the shot is because he’s a fairly well known fighter in the state of California.  He’s got a big fan base, and big fan bases = more viewers, which = more money, which is why fucked up things like this happen all the time.

I expected more out of Strikeforce now that they’ve taken the big leap into being one of the major US based organizations, and I personally feel that this rematch will end just like the first.  Why didn’t Strikeforce give the title shot to Mitsuhiro Ishida?  Not only has he fought for the organization before, but he won in beautiful fashion and was the first guy to give a put an “L” on Gilbert’s professional career.  He’s the #1 contender, he deserves the shot, not the former champ who got dismantled for 25 minutes and who hasn’t won a fight since!

Below is the current card for the April 11th event, which, aside from this stupid fight, should be really enjoyable…

Main Event:

Nick Diaz vs. Frank Shamrock

Co-Main Event:

Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez (for Strikeforce lightweight title)

Undercard:

Joe Riggs vs. Jake Shields
Benji Radach vs. Scott Smith
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos vs. TBA