(Sure, he may look strange to us, but that sort of thing is totally normal where he’s from.)
Somebody up there must like Yoshihiro Akiyama. Though the master judoka/crooner has been defeated in his last four outings — most recently dropping a decision to Jake Shields at UFC 144 — he’ll be getting another chance against Thiago Alves at UFC 149 (July 21st, Calgary). Bizarrely, UFC.com describes the welterweight bout as “a matchup between ground specialists who love to stand and trade.” That’s certainly an apt description of Sexyama, but Alves is more of “a standup specialist who should really stop diving into guillotine chokes.”
Alves’s loss to Martin Kampmann last month dropped his record over the last three years to a disappointing 2-4, with his only wins coming against Papy Abedi and John Howard, so he needs this win almost as much as his opponent does. If Akiyama loses, he’ll become just the second fighter in UFC history (after Steve Cantwell) to suffer five consecutive losses within the promotion. Anybody think he has a chance of breaking his streak?
Check out the current lineup of UFC 149 after the jump…
Jose Aldo vs. TBA (for featherweight title)
Thiago Alves vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (WW)
George Roop vs. Antonio Carvalho (FW)
Nick Ring vs. Court McGee (MW)
Bryan Caraway vs. Mitch Gagnon (BW)
Mitch Clarke vs. Anton Kuivanen (LW)