Aoki will/would do fine in Strikeforce

Renzo Gracie NH · 11-07-2009, 08:54 AM

I dont even know if he'll definitely fight there but I read that he is rumored to fight in strikeforce in 2010.

I saw a few people saying that he wont be effective with elbows and w/o his amazing technicolor dreampants. I remember reading these same criticisms in a junie interview acouple months ago.

I think this is a pretty silly assumption. Shinya Aoki has proven to be one of if now the best MMA BJJ guys out there. He has submitted some top LW's as well as taken decisions over some other top guys when he couldnt find ways to submit them. I am aware that he uses a lot of rubber guard and that he is somewhat helped by his amazing technicolor dreampants but to assume that his whole BJJ game relies on a pair of pants and no elbows is ridiculous.

First off a pretty large part of the pants thing can be solved by knee pads which are legal. Secondly, I feel as if Aoki has proven himself to be a good enough fighter and BJJ'er to adapt to some rule changes.

Think of all the great LWs he has beaten with out the use of rubber guard. I'm pretty sure he would have beaten JZ, Eddie Alvarez, Shaolin and Hansen the second time even if he werent wearing the dreampants.

Aoki is world class and the addition of elbows and the subtraction of dreampants will not change that.

EDIT: Just been informed Strikeforce doesnt allow elbows. I still feel that if elbows were added he'd do fine so just apply that to my next point, Aoki would be #2 guy if he ended up in the UFC. HE wouldnt beat Penn but he would be #2 guy.