2011 hasn’t been very kind to Asian fighters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Dong Hyun Kim was KO’d by Carlos Condit. Yoshihiro Akiyama must be seriously contemplating his other entertainment talents after suffering a beating from Vitor Belfort.
Zhang Tie Quan was impressive in his guillotine choke win in his UFC debut, but he hasn’t been on the radar lately.
But Japan’s Yushin Okami (26-5) is different, and he could be set to become Asia’s first homegrown son to become champion in Pride, er, I mean the UFC on August 27, 2011 in Rio, Brazil. (The first Asian has to be Lyoto Machida, but he ain’t homegrown).
Riding on the crest of last year’s three-fight win streak over Lucio Linhares, Mark Munoz and Nate Marquardt, respectively, Okami has come a long way since his first professional mixed martial arts debut on September 8, 2002.
Prior to UFC, he has fought around the globe for various promotions like Pancrase, M-1 Global and Rumble on the Rock. And even before fighting as a pro, he won the pre-Pride 4 amateur tournament in Japan, proving that he is now a true grizzled veteran of the fight game.
It was in Rumble on the Rock 8, on January 20, 2006, when he won over Anderson Silva by disqualification. The circumstances are known to every MMA fan, casual or hardcore. (In other words, no need to repeat here, right?)
The rematch is this weekend: Anderson “The Spider” Silva as long-reigning UFC middleweight champion and Yushin “Thunder” Okami as his worthy challenger.
Okami not only has his work cut out for him—he’s got his shot at immortality.
After all, the man he will attempt to dethrone as UFC Middleweight Champion is none other than MMA’s current pound-for-pound king and most dangerous fighter. And this will take place right in Silva’s backyard, no less.
Add to that the other historical breakthrough of possibly becoming Asia’s new MMA emperor, ruling over UFC’s middleweight empire.
Anyway, in case Okami falls short in this much-coveted chance of a lifetime, he’s already got a ready-made excuse: “Talk show king Chael Sonnen was not in my corner.”
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