Aside from a couple of nasty, ‘and that’s a wrap’ stoppage wins, it’s safe to say that Yushin Okami has struggled to entertain most fans with his grinding style. Like it or not, the guy is damn effective, and if he gets ahold of Anderson Silva for a prolonged time at UFC Rio, the living highlight reel may not be so thrilling.
How the action will unfold aside, the good news is that it’s looking like the pre-fight road to Silva vs. Okami II is not going to be completely void of drama. While Okami isn’t exactly known for the smack talk, he is the last dude to defeat Silva, and the renowned Brazilian champ apparently is still a wee bit irked about that fact. In a recent interview with the LA Times (thanks to ESPN U.K. for the heads up), Silva talked about his DQ loss to Okami in 2006, and offered this:
“I was a little surprised with his reaction to that [upkick],” Silva said in the LA Times. “Do I think he could have continued? I do think he could have continued. But he had the rules in his favour. I did an illegal kick and he chose that it was better not to continue.”… “I respect everybody and have a history in the sport and I believe people need to respect me. When they cross that line of respect is when they don’t really understand what happens.”
Huh. Is someone calling somebody a coward? The article also mentions that apparently Silva referred to Okami in the past as a “samurai without honor”…now that’s gotta hurt. See, this Silva vs. Okami II bout is shaping up just fine.