Yushin Okami - The #1 Middleweight Contender

[Turd Ferguson]

So last night, what seems to have been Dana White's worst nightmare for the Middleweight Division has come to fruition as Yushin Okami beat Nate Marquardt to become #1 Contender.

Okami isn't flashy at all, but he gets the job done. The only time he was ever really exciting was when he destroyed Lucio Linhares, and that came off of his loss to Chael Sonnen. Since that point, he's been training with Sonnen, and between destroying Linhares, and decisioning Munoz and Marquardt, he's been as dominant as ever.

Going 10-2, with his only two losses coming to Franklin and Sonnen, Okami has been deserving of a title shot for quite some time, and he's certainly more deserving than Patrick Cote and Thales Leites ever were. Could it be that Dana held off on giving him a title shot because he certainly has the style to beat Silva?

Dana voiced his displeasure following the main event last night...

"Was that the most exciting fight I've ever seen? No," White told MMAjunkie.com. "It was not. But he went in there against a very tough opponent in Marquardt and won."

"When we come and we put these guys on a headliner to go after the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, and the main event looks like that? It's very disappointing," he said.

In fact, he laid much of the blame not on Okami (26-5 MMA, 10-2 UFC) but on Marquardt (30-10-2 MMA, 9-4 UFC) for failing to deliver at the moment of a golden opportunity.

"He is a choker," White bluntly told reporters following the UFC 122 post-event press conference. "He choked tonight."

Regardless of the bad taste left in his mouth, White green-lighted Okami for a meeting with the winner of an upcoming title bout between reigning champ Anderson Silva and challenger Vitor Belfort, which takes place in February at UFC 126.

"Well, it was for the title shot, so yeah," said White, sticking to his promise.

The newly minted contender was neglected for the majority of the post-event press conference, though he was asked to give a message to Silva.

"Fighting Anderson Silva is one of my goals," Okami said. "I would like to fight against the middleweight champion. So I hope [he's] the next fight."

Okami is the only current UFC fighter to hold a win over Silva's head, which he earned when the reigning champ was disqualified for an illegal upkick during a January 2006 Rumble on the Rock event. Since then, he repeatedly has stated he'd rather face Silva than Belfort.

Okami is definitely deserving, and he's a winner. He also has the ability to defeat Silva, and I think he will when it comes time for them to fight. What the UFC is going to have a problem with though, is promoting the fight. Silva PPVs (not accounting for the Sonnen fight) have done notoriously poor. Putting him against Yushin Okami, who fans find boring, is not going to do well.

Enter Chael Sonnen. Sonnen and Okami have been training together since Sonnen beat him very handedly at UFC 104. Sonnen knows something about promoting a fight as well. I think it would be very smart for the UFC to employ Sonnen as Okami's hype man over the next few months. The fans need a reason to care about Okami, and Sonnen is a known entity who got not just fans, but the general public to take notice of who he is, despite being a virtual unknown.

Does Okami stand a chance of beating Anderson Silva for the title? Weigh in here.

 

[Fizzy]

Does he stand a chance? Of course. Hes a huge MW, and has good wrestling that will improve while training with Sonnen. He deserves this shot more than anyone especially fucking Vitor Belfort. Fuck just saying he is getting a shot pisses me off. He also has good boxing. He should learn to kick more though. He could be fucking deadly with a good kicking game. Do I think he will beat Anderson? After last nights fight fuck no. That fight was sloppy, and Okami didn't win that fight. Nate lost it. Nate could have easily won that fight, but he was fucking stupid. Okami did not look great at all last night, and if he fights like that against Silva I expect a knock out. However lucky for him that fight won't be for a long time, and he will improve a ton while training with Sonnen which should make a good fight.

 

[jmt225]

I really like Yushin Okami, and while I do think he could beat most of the Middleweight Division in the UFC, Anderson Silva isn't one of those guys.

You watch Okami fight, he has two things going for him: His jab, and his wrestling.

Now, his jab automatically gets taken away against a striker as long and diverse as Anderson Silva.

However, everyone knows Anderson's weakness is wrestling. BUT, Okami is a power wrestler, not a speed wrestler like Chael Sonnen. Sonnen has perhaps the fastest shot in MMA; it's damn near impossible to stuff. Okami, on the other hand, relies on getting his hands on you to take you down with his strength, not on the speed of his shot. And in my opinion, that's just not going to work against someone as quick and elusive as Anderson Silva.

Anderson will keep the fight standing, and will eventually knock Okami out. Okami will fight his ass off, no doubt, but Anderson is the worst kind of match up for him.

That said, IF Vitor Belfort somehow defeats Anderson, then I will certainly pick Okami against Belfort. Okami will pin Belfort against the cage, put his ass on the ground, and grind him to a decision. There's no doubt in my mind about that.

Anyways, if I'm Dana White, I see nothing to bitch about. The Middleweight division is as stacked and unpredictable as ever before, and there's nothing but interests revolving around it at this point, whereas a year ago at this time no one could care less.

Also, Guy.. GREAT idea in letting Sonnen be Okami's speaker. I would love that, and it would do tremendous things for both Okami and the show's revenue.

 

[INDYjon22]

Yushin Okami deserves the title shot. He has been one of the top Middleweights in the world for a few years now. I remember he was supposed to get a title shot a while back but I think an injury eliminated him from consideration and then when he returned he happened to run into the runaway train known as Chael Sonnen. The thing about Okami is he can beat just about any Middleweight. He has lost twice in the UFC and only one of those loses was a blow out and that was the Sonnen fight. He took it to Rich Franklin and that is a testament to his fighting spirit.

I have been a fan of Okami for a few years now and it makes me happy to finally see him get a shot at the title and to see him fight Anderson again. The odds are not in his favor but he does have a shot. He needs to continue working on his wrestling and striking, as well as build a gameplan that is similar to the one Chael Sonnen implemented. That is his best shot at winning in my eyes, against Silva at least. If he fights Vitor Belfort, well the same gameplan can be used and may even be more useful. I don't like his chances against Anderson but I do think he stands a decent chance against Belfort if he wins the title.

Also, I like the idea of Chael Sonnen as Yushin Okami's mouthpiece. He can build up hype for the fight while not creating any heat towards Okami.

 

[Cocaine]

I say you might as well give Okami a shot. Why not? Silva has cleaned out the whole division pretty much...and I'd rather see Okami fight Silva rather than another Fitch fight. I doubt he will win, but like I said, it's better than Fitch.

 

[INDYjon22]

I say you might as well give Okami a shot. Why not? Silva has cleaned out the whole division pretty much...and I'd rather see Okami fight Silva rather than another Fitch fight. I doubt he will win, but like I said, it's better than Fitch.

Do you even know what division is being discussed? Yushin Okami and Anderson Silva are Middleweights, Jon Fitch is a Welterweight. Not to mention Fitch has never fought Anderson. Clearly you are confusing your fighters. However, you are fairly correct in your assessment of Silva cleaning out the division. If he gets through Belfort and Okami all that is really left is a possible rematch with Sonnen and the division will have had all its top guys defeated, unless Bisping strings some wins together or Wanderlie gets on a nice streak.

 

[Cocaine]

Do you even know what division is being discussed? Yushin Okami and Anderson Silva are Middleweights, Jon Fitch is a Welterweight. Not to mention Fitch has never fought Anderson. Clearly you are confusing your fighters. However, you are fairly correct in your assessment of Silva cleaning out the division. If he gets through Belfort and Okami all that is really left is a possible rematch with Sonnen and the division will have had all its top guys defeated, unless Bisping strings some wins together or Wanderlie gets on a nice streak.

Haha wow- my bad man. Must have zoned out while making that post...dunno why I said fitch

In any case- I agree. I wouldn't mind seeing a rematch with Sonnen if he can get is steroid allegation sorted out. As for Belfort, that could be an interesting fight granted he can stay healthy enough to do a full training camp. I don't think Wanderlei will get on any sort of streak with the competition that's in MW. I love the guy, and would LOVE to see him return to form like he was in PRIDE, but I don't see it happening.