Shinya Aoki And Eddie Alvarez To Rematch In Bellator This April

After losing his Bellator title in a fight of the year candidate against Michael Chandler, Eddie Alvarez decided to skip this season's lightweight tournament so he could negotiate for a chance to redeem another loss - one against the popular Japanese champion, Shinya Aoki.

Alvarez will finally be getting his wish on April 21st, but this time, he'll be taking on the DREAM champion inside the Bellator cage. Sources close to the situation have informed BloodyElbow.com that bout agreements have been sent and Aoki has already put pen to paper, with Bellator expected to make the official announcement soon.

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I see Alvarez winning this rematch fairly easily, but I'll be pulling for my boy Shinya all the way!!!!

Hmmm, might have to go with Alvarez because of the Cage...Aoki looked horrible against Melendez in the cage but Melendez and Alvarez are different beasts so idk

Going with my boy Alvarez

Gonna be good, I like Aoki but Alvarez has a better chance at taking this one

why arent aoki or alvarez fighting in the tournament?

perfect fight for Eddie, at this point in his career, deffinetlely a thumps up...

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Posted by Travesty145

why arent aoki or alvarez fighting in the tournament?

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i also agree, but i think bellator is trying to push towards new faces, and i think THEY know that alvarez will most likely make the finals 9 times out of 10 anyways, and i think its better for them to start building off of the division with newer faces, and not give toby imada easy wins via his way to the semis and finals 3 years in a row

Everyone seems to be going with Alvarez. I say he gets subbed by Aoki again. Alvarez is great standing but if it hits the ground especially with a beast like Aoki then it's over.

doesnt matter if its a cage or ring..Aoki fight iq is far better then Alvarez...very good td's mixed with his judo and trips, but also doesnt need to take u down, cuz he'll pull u into his guard, then rubber guard..he almost has complete control off his back in his rubber guard and does whatever he wants with it..he's been wearing shorts instead of fancy pants, cuz he ready to make the move to the states, and i think this match will bring Aoki more to the general crowd..Aoki via sub! Av Bet That!!!

Same thing as last time. Aoki gets the clinch, transitions to back, gets thrown off, immediately sinks in a submissions from guard.

alvarez needs to watch the sakurai/aoki fight, sakurai didnt even give him a fuckin chance, thats one of only ways to beat shinya...swarm him, but hes gotta be smart and not get to aggressive, because hes not a great wrestler, and his control, which wev e seen in recent bellator bouts, isnt that great either, so his best bet is standing in the first 1:30

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Posted by armbar66j7

alvarez needs to watch the sakurai/aoki fight, sakurai didnt even give him a fuckin chance, thats one of only ways to beat shinya...swarm him, but hes gotta be smart and not get to aggressive, because hes not a great wrestler, and his control, which wev e seen in recent bellator bouts, isnt that great either, so his best bet is standing in the first 1:30

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did u watch that match?..knees to a ground opponent is not allowd in the states, which Sakurai landed 3/4 knees followd by 5/6 punches, but it was the knees which already had Aoki ko'd..that wouldnt fly by here..Aoki was winning before the ground' knees from Sakurai..

Same result of SUB in Round 1 except by Triangle.

Crazy talk, if Michael Chandler can't get Alvarez's back then how could Aoki?

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Posted by Kpro

Crazy talk, if Michael Chandler can't get Alvarez's back then how could Aoki?

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Lol.

Maybe when Shinya Aoki virtually decapitates Alvarez with the titanium in his fists, he can sink in that rear-naked choke too.

Seriously, Aoki's funny to me. On paper, when Aoki tries getting into clinch warfare so he can pull guard on Alvarez only to throw together a heel hook as Alvarez is threatening to escape, it just sounds funny and highly unlikely. Then again...

Aoki has done it before. A lot. Almost every time. Because that's how he wins.

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Posted by RhythmAndStyle

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Posted by armbar66j7

alvarez needs to watch the sakurai/aoki fight, sakurai didnt even give him a fuckin chance, thats one of only ways to beat shinya...swarm him, but hes gotta be smart and not get to aggressive, because hes not a great wrestler, and his control, which wev e seen in recent bellator bouts, isnt that great either, so his best bet is standing in the first 1:30

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did u watch that match?..knees to a ground opponent is not allowd in the states, which Sakurai landed 3/4 knees followd by 5/6 punches, but it was the knees which already had Aoki ko'd..that wouldnt fly by here..Aoki was winning before the ground' knees from Sakurai..

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...after he got rocked and dropped by a flurry of punches...ive seen that fight several times

Aoki's clinch work will be the key here. Alvarez had plenty of knowledge on Aoki and tried desperately to keep it standing and out of the clinch but couldn't. This is a crucial area I give an edge to Aoki even in the cage. He has really put together his MMA grappling and is better adjusted to the cage, still has great transitions, great sweeps, uses leverage properly in the clinch to out technique stronger fighters. It's really awesome to see if he can do that every fight. In a way he is the male version of Rousey, always trying for the takedown and submission right away but even better because his arsenal of submission is more complete and he fights at a higher level of competition.