A super-fight of sorts may be on the horizon.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told MMAweekly.com Saturday night after “Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery” that he would be willing to co-promote an event with Bellator Fighting Championships at some point. The obvious match up resulting from the connection is a lightweight fixture between Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, who choked out Josh Neer in the Bellator 17 main event, and Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, who also saw victory in his last fight, out-pointing Japanese submission superstar Shinya Aoki at “Strikeforce: Nashville.” Melendez expressed interest in the fight to MMAWeekly.com.
Both Alvarez and Melendez have stormed through the lightweight division as of late and each are making a case for top-tier rankings in the division. The fight would be one of the more intriguing lightweight match ups in quite some time, as each man has made the case for the title of best lightweight outside of the UFC. The fact that Strikeforce has co-promoted in the past certainly helps the case for this fight coming to pass.
At this point in time, Melendez has not been assigned the next challenger to his 155-pound belt. Alvarez’s next opponent remains unknown, as the Bellator Season Two lightweight tournament is still underway. He will face the winner of the tournament finale, which features Pat Curran and Toby Imada vying for a slot opposite the champ.