Is Aoki's One Dimensional Style Enough To Top The Division?

Gilbert Melendez and Shinya Aoki will square off this Saturday for the Strikeforce 155lb title in Nashville, TN. Many fans are ready to crown the winner of the top of the 155lb food chain after BJ Penn's abysmal performance in Abu Dahbi last weekend and subsequent loss of the UFC lightweight title.
Aoki has been bending, choking, and twisting his way into pound for pound lists over in the land of the rising son for a long time now, but can his one dimensional grappling style transition over to the US where wrestlers like Melendez rule the roost? Bj Penn was the exception to the rule when it came to wrestling because of his inhuman takedown defense and boxing that not many could contend with. Aoki has neither of those things working in his favor as evidenced by seeing the "Tobikan Judan" butt scoot mischievously toward his opponents trying to goad them into a ground war.
If Melendez decides to keep this contest on his feet, the Dream star will find himself in a world of trouble. I desperately want to see Aoki do well in his US debut, both because I am a fan of his and because Japanese fighters coming to the US have not fared very well as of late. If Aoki does pull guard or get some kind of throw to pull Gilbert into his world then it could be an interesting grappling contest.
Melendez is no slouch on the ground coming up under Caesar Gracie and training with Jake Shields will do wonders for you submission game. Both defensively and offensively Gilbert can hold his own, but will that be the case with Aoki?  Melendez was on his way to being considered one of the best lightweights in the world until losses to Josh Thomson and Ishida sidelined that talk for a while. After avenging both losses in dominant and exciting fashion, Gil is right back on track to being the cream of the crop at 155.
At any rate, the fight on Saturday reaps the rewards of co-promotion with Dream and gives the fans here in the US the type of fights that we want. As long as Aoki puts on a good performance on Saturday and doesn't flop on the ground constantly due to frustration, win, lose, or draw it will be worth the anticipation and crown what could be the new leader of the 155lb division.