Bleacher Report’s MMA news recap for Thursday, May 5:UFC 129: Cesar Gracie surprised by Jake Shields’ boxing skills.UFC 131: Rani Yahya out, Jason Young to fight Dustin Poirier.UFC 130: Gray Maynard talks Frankie Edgar, Anthony Pettis and Rashad Evans….
Bleacher Report’s MMA news recap for Thursday, May 5:
UFC 129: Cesar Gracie surprised by Jake Shields’ boxing skills.
UFC 131: Rani Yahya out, Jason Young to fight Dustin Poirier.
UFC 130: Gray Maynard talks Frankie Edgar, Anthony Pettis and Rashad Evans.
UFC 129 Results: Could Mark Hominick get another title shot with a couple of wins?
UFC 130: Roy Nelson talks UFC Fan Expo, mullets and Frank Mir.
UFC Rio: Ben Rothwell’s return and rumored opponent.
Bleacher Report’s Sal DeRose:At UFC 129, Mark Hominick gave Jose Aldo a run for his money even with a hematoma on his head. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to grasp the UFC featherweight title from Aldo.Hominick though, may get another crack at t…
Bleacher Report’s Sal DeRose:
At UFC 129, Mark Hominick gave Jose Aldo a run for his money even with a hematoma on his head. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to grasp the UFC featherweight title from Aldo.
Hominick though, may get another crack at the featherweight title with a couple more wins under his belt after he impressed the UFC with his UFC 129 performance.
“Oh, they were thrilled. They were like, ‘Heal up and we want you back as soon as you can. In another two fights you will get another crack at the title,’” Hominick told The Fan 590 Radio on Monday. “I know some of the things I have to work on to take him out. I don’t think he would be lining up to fight me to tell you the honest truth.”
Hominick took the fight to Aldo and in the fifth round made an impressive comeback to try and sway the judges in his favor. Hominick though lost to Aldo by unanimous decision and is now out for a little bit while he heals.
Hominick’s performance took place at home in Canada in front of 50,000 at Roger Centre in Toronto.
What does it take to beat a guy like Anderson Silva? The favored answer would be a strong, aggressive wrestler with great submission defense. Despite being overlooked, these are the exact same qualities possessed by UFC middleweight contender Yushin Ok…
The favored answer would be a strong, aggressive wrestler with great submission defense. Despite being overlooked, these are the exact same qualities possessed by UFC middleweight contender Yushin Okami.
On August 27, Okami will finally get his long-awaited title bout in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at UFC 134 against arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world today, Anderson Silva.
“I will guarantee that [Anderson] will not be bored when fighting me,” Okami told MMAFighting.com in an email interview.
Silva’s dominant middleweight reign is legendary. Since defeating Rich Franklin for the UFC title in October 2006, he has successfully defended his throne a record eight times inside the octagon.
Most consider Silva to be one of the greatest fighters of all time. His ability to make some of the best fighters in the world look mediocre is nothing short of astonishing. At times, he even seems bored inside the octagon, which has led to questionable tactics in the past––such as hiding behind the ref, helping up a downed opponent during a fight, and busting out awkward gestures and dance-like movements.
Silva meets a familiar foe in Okami. The two went toe to toe in January 2006 at Rumble on the Rock 8, where Okami earned the victory after Silva was disqualified for an illegal upkick. The fight was stopped when a wobbled Okami wasn’t able to continue.
Silva wasn’t too happy about the way the fight went, and he even went on record to say that Okami could’ve continued but simply chose not to.
“It doesn’t matter what he thinks,” Okami said. “All I think about is defeating Anderson.”
Okami certainly has the style to present a legitimate threat to Silva’s reign. At UFC 117, Silva was completely outclassed by challenger Chael Sonnen for five rounds, but he was able to latch on a last minute triangle choke in the fifth round to retain his middleweight title.
Sonnen pushed the action on the feet throughout and secured takedown after takedown. Okami is a similar fighter with superior submission defense, and he should be able to take a page or two out of Sonnen’s book.
“Of course, Chael’s fight does give me some hints, but I am a different person, and therefore it will be a different fight,” Okami stated.
Born in Kanagwa, Japan, Okami hopes to boost the morale of a nation devastated by tragedy. The American success rate for Japanese fighters hasn’t been very good, but the statistics don’t seem to apply to Okami, who is a perennial contender and one of the top middleweights in the world.
“Winning the championship will be proof that an Asian can stand on top of the heavyweight contact sports world,” said Okami. “I believe that can also give strength to everyone in Japan and Asia. I hope the people of Japan will feel joy by seeing me become the champion.”
Okami is coming off two significant wins over Nate Marquardt and Mark Munoz, and his confidence level is through the roof. Fans are clamoring for a superfight between Silva and Georges St-Pierre, but it would be downright foolish to underestimate Okami’s chances.
He has the style to beat Silva, but can he get the job done?
“[Anderson’s] got an aura that intimidates any opponent,” said Okami. “I’m going to take that aura away from him.”
While the speculation surrounding a superfight between Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre continues to grow, Japanese star Yushin Okami looks to spoil that opportunity, as he will challenge the Brazilian for the UFC middleweight title at UFC Rio this…
While the speculation surrounding a superfight between Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre continues to grow, Japanese star Yushin Okami looks to spoil that opportunity, as he will challenge the Brazilian for the UFC middleweight title at UFC Rio this summer.
The recent announcement of Okami and Silva became somewhat of a surprise to most mixed martial arts fans, as UFC president Dana White stated previously that Silva and St-Pierre would meet if both champions were to defeat their opponents, which they did, having essentially cleaned out their respective divisions.
But for now, it appears the UFC boss has other plans.
And for Okami, he seems quite content with being booked against Silva, who, after winning 10 of his last 12 UFC bouts, is ready to get his shot at the title.
“My opponent is the champion Anderson, the fight is in Brazil, and I am the challenger. I’d say that the table has been set,” he said to MMAFighting.com.
Okami has been eagerly awaiting a rematch with the champion ever since his debut in the UFC five years prior. In January, 2006, Okami was awarded the victory via disqualification after Silva landed an illegal kick that left the Japanese star unconscious and unable to continue.
While Okami said he believes Silva’s kick was not intentional, Silva has held a grudge against Okami and he publicly stated his opponent was able to continue the bout, but chose not to.
As a result, Okami is the last man to technically defeat Silva. And regarding Silva’s bad blood towards him, Okami said he could care less about what the Brazilian thinks of him.
“It doesn’t matter what he thinks,” he said. “All I think about is defeating Anderson.”
Okami has evolved since his first bout with Silva and has been paying close attention to the Brazilian’s recent performances, vowing that he will not be able to toy with him like he has done to past opponents.
“I will guarantee that he will not be bored when fighting me,” Okami said.
Although this won’t be their first encounter against one another, it will be the first time Silva defends his middleweight title in his homeland of Brazil, a difficult task Okami must overcome in order to beat the champion again.
Meanwhile, Silva, who will be defending his title for a unprecedented ninth time, is arguably the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighter and will look to exact revenge on Okami.
But Okami said he will not let the champion’s home-field advantage nor his mystique overwhelm him.
“He’s got an aura that intimidates any opponent,” he said. “I’m going to take that aura away from him.”
Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveMore and more, it seems like the proposed superfight between reigning champions Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre will not happen. After St-Pierre’s title defense on Saturday night, UFC president Dana White seemed…
More and more, it seems like the proposed superfight between reigning champions Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre will not happen. After St-Pierre’s title defense on Saturday night, UFC president Dana White seemed more interested in seeing the welterweight king next defend his belt against Nick Diaz. But even before that, there had already been another obstacle placed in its path: Yushin Okami.
The longtime UFC middleweight star had for months been engaged in a waiting game. After beating Nate Marquardt last November, he had been promised an opportunity to fight for the title, but when White sheepishly asked Okami to simply bide his time while the UFC figured out its next move, the future date seemed more of an open-ended question than an iron-clad lock. Yet just two weeks before St-Pierre was to defend his belt and set up the dream match, the UFC surprised many by announcing that Silva-Okami would take place in Rio at UFC 134.
“It’s good to be king”—Tom PettyWhen you’re sporting a new sled like UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva is, it sure is good to be the king.Silva has joined UFC hall of fame member Randy Couture by purchasing a new Camaro SS. But this isn’t j…
“It’s good to be king”—Tom Petty
When you’re sporting a new sled like UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva is, it sure is good to be the king.
Silva has joined UFC hall of fame member Randy Couture by purchasing a new Camaro SS. But this isn’t just any normal Camaro—this baby is tricked out like none other.
All the customizations done to this car are far too many to list. Thankfully, someone from the Camaro5.com forums took the time to break down everything West Coast Customs did to make the Camaro a one-of-a-kind for the “Spider.”
“The customization of Silva’s Camaro is extensive and to our eyes includes: custom paint, black stripes running from hood to tail, widened rear quarter fenders/shoulders with functional open rear quarter fender openings, Silva Bee grill emblem, Silva Bee embroidered headrest, back seats, trunk lid liner, and floormats, custom black spoke / yellow lip wheels, custom functional Transformers 2 style bumper air inlets, custom cowl ram air hood, custom, custom rear diffuser with exhaust outlet, black painted rear light bezel, SILVA door sills, alcantara headliner and door paneling, custom dashboard including driver facing gauges, dual colored seats, steering wheel, shift knob, contrasting stitching, in-dash screen, custom trunk subwoofer system and pop-up screens on rear quarter shoulders.”
Just reading everything that was done to the car isn’t enough to do it any justice. You can check out a bounty of pictures of this incredible ride by clicking here.
After eyeballing a similar Camaro at a local dealership for months, and getting financing all lined up, second thoughts must be sitting in. After seeing that incredible car, having something less sitting in your garage would put a frown on your face.
At 
More and more, it seems like the proposed superfight between reigning champions