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Anderson Silva Says Yushin Okami Could Have Kept Fighting

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 […]

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.

Lyoto Machida Believes Different “Shogun” Rua Fought Jon Jones

It wasn’t long ago that everyone and their favorite keyboard (yes, including us), were falling over themselves to toss a heaping ton of praise on Jon Jones, after he demolished “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128 in March. After all, the 23 year-old-phenomenon hardly broke a sweat while dismantling the man that had beaten the man. […]

It wasn’t long ago that everyone and their favorite keyboard (yes, including us), were falling over themselves to toss a heaping ton of praise on Jon Jones, after he demolished “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128 in March. After all, the 23 year-old-phenomenon hardly broke a sweat while dismantling the man that had beaten the man. Remember the heralded Machida Era? And how Rua ended it with a series of ‘nighty-nighty’ right hands?

While there’s no questioning the fact that Jones is quickly approaching ‘baddest dude on the planet’ status, you don’t have to be a member of the “Shogun” Boosters Club to concede that Rua didn’t exactly look like his old self in the fight. The guy did spend almost a year on the DL with yet another knee injury. Well, Lyoto Machida recently offered his opinion to Sherdog.com on how Rua looked against Jones, and not surprisingly, he didn’t see the same dude that beat him down last May.

“Shogun is a tough guy…I know Shogun has more to show than that. Maybe he failed to bring his game or maybe he felt the pressure of defending the belt for the first time. As I’ve said before, there are other factors we don’t know about, other factors that may have interfered. They changed opponents on him. That can interfere with a fight. I have no doubt he could have fought better. I’m sure if Shogun was the same fighter he was when we fought in Los Angeles the fight would have been much more difficult for Jones…”

Guess we’ll get a better idea on this when Rua rematches Griffin this August.

“Minotauro” Nogueira Still Says Anderson Silva Fighting Yushin Okami; Moving to 205

Yushin Okami’s performances may not always wear out the edge of your seat, but really, what does the dude have to do to get a title shot? This is a man, a rather large and strong one at that, who has won ten times in the Octagon and is coming off wins over Mark Munoz […]

Yushin Okami’s performances may not always wear out the edge of your seat, but really, what does the dude have to do to get a title shot? This is a man, a rather large and strong one at that, who has won ten times in the Octagon and is coming off wins over Mark Munoz and Nate Marquardt. That’s not a bad way to go about becoming a contender, but despite Okami’s accomplishments, he’s still waiting to face Anderson Silva (yes, that DQ thingy aside).

So, when recently Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira told Tatame magazine that Silva was going to fight Okami at the upcoming August 27^th UFC in Brazil, the news may not have sent every MMA fan into thrilled hysteria, but it kind of made sense. Then, MMA Junkie cited sources who said the reports were “premature,” no doubt sending Okami’s booster club members into further despair. Well, in a more recent story from Fighters Only Magazine, the outlet is reporting that Nogueira has once again stated in another Brazilian mag that, yes, Silva is fighting Okami this August.

“The mystery about the UFC Rio card that takes place on Aug 27th starts to be unfolded. I have information in which my friend and current biggest phenomenon Anderson Silva will make the main fight of the event versus Japan’s Yushin Okami,”

Now hold on for the real WTF? news. Nogueira apparently went on to say that Silva could be moving to light-heavyweight, because of the lack of contenders available to him at 185. Say what? Aside from the rematch with Chael Sonnen, which everyone and their dog wants to see, hasn’t Anderson consistently said lately he’s not doing 205 anymore?

Carlos Condit Gets Fight With Dong Hyun Kim

Recently we gave Carlos Condit a cyberspace, double thumbs up for quickly doing the ‘pick, pick me’ when word came down that Jon Fitch was bowing out of his rematch with BJ Penn due to an injury. Nothing came out of it immediately, leading us to speculate that fight wasn’t happening, and now Penn has […]

Recently we gave Carlos Condit a cyberspace, double thumbs up for quickly doing the ‘pick, pick me’ when word came down that Jon Fitch was bowing out of his rematch with BJ Penn due to an injury. Nothing came out of it immediately, leading us to speculate that fight wasn’t happening, and now Penn has announced that he too is injured.

Who is Condit going to fight? Today the UFC has announced that the former WEC champ will take on Dong Hyun Kim on July 2^nd…yup, not exactly a guy that’s been blowing dudes out of the water in the first round, but still a reedonkously tough fighter nonetheless. Big, strong, judo black belts just seem to have a way of taking the fight right out of you; just ask Matt Brown, TJ Grant, Amir Sadollah and Nate Diaz.

So, while this fight may not produce the kind of fireworks that a Condit, Penn match-up would have, it’s still an intriguing bout. A win for either guy will say a lot about where they stand in the welterweight division, just as UFC boss man Dana White stated in the official announcement:

“A win over Condit would break Kim into the top ten and a win over Kim would bring Condit another step closer to a world title shot,” said UFC President Dana White.

Anyone else thinking Condit needs to keep this fight standing and then some? UFC 132’s shaping up nicely; Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber, Chris Leben vs. Wanderlei Silva, Evan Dunham vs. George Sotiroupolus and more.

Chris Leben vs. Wanderlei Silva Set; Carlos Condit Waiting to Hear on BJ Penn

Any regular reader of MMA Fix knows that we’ve been on board the Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben train for some time, so now that the UFC has officially confirmed the bout for July 2nd, we’re pretty stoked. Yes, yes, a rematch between Vitor Belfort and Wandy would be amazing, but it seems pretty clear […]

Any regular reader of MMA Fix knows that we’ve been on board the Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben train for some time, so now that the UFC has officially confirmed the bout for July 2^nd, we’re pretty stoked. Yes, yes, a rematch between Vitor Belfort and Wandy would be amazing, but it seems pretty clear that because Silva’s coming off a lengthy layoff due to knee surgery, he’d like to fight once before facing his Brazilian foe. Not sure if fighting a guy like Leben constitutes as a warm-up though, considering his left hand could double as a sledgehammer when he’s doing odd and ends around the yard.

Last week we credited Carlos Condit for stepping up to the plate and offering to fight BJ Penn, in response to the news that Jon Fitch is injured and will no longer face Penn as scheduled. It was a ballsy move by Condit, and although most fans should be down with that fight, questions remain as to whether BJ is interested. Condit’s manager Malki Kawa informed MMA Weekly that they’ve formally approached the UFC about the fight, however, they’re still waiting to hear back.

“I’m not really sure what’s holding it up right now. Hopefully Condit’s the guy they call to do it,” Kawa stated. “I don’t know if there’s a better fight than Condit for him, but we’re excited about the opportunity and hopefully, if Joe Silva, B.J. Penn, and the UFC feel like it’s something they want to do, Carlos is itching. He texts me every day ‘any word on B.J.?’ I’m hoping that’s what happens for him.”

Maybe the delay on this means it’s a no go….

Nick Diaz Says Fighting Friends “Disgusting Thought”

For some time now, it appeared as though the chances of two noteworthy teammates fighting was about as likely as Strikeforce being bought by the UFC…, and then, well, the friendship between training partners Rashad Evans and Jon Jones went right down the commode after the two agreed to fight. Nick “Don’t be Scared Homie” […]

For some time now, it appeared as though the chances of two noteworthy teammates fighting was about as likely as Strikeforce being bought by the UFC…, and then, well, the friendship between training partners Rashad Evans and Jon Jones went right down the commode after the two agreed to fight. Nick “Don’t be Scared Homie” Diaz was recently asked about the teammates fighting issue on a Strikeforce teleconference call, and the welterweight champ didn’t mince even one word, when Jones vs. Evans was raised as an example. (Thanks to MMA Weekly for the quotes)

“That’s what they’ve got them doing and they’re not focused on what’s important to them in life. I’ve got what works, and I’ve got what’s got me there and that’s my team. That’s a disgusting thought to have to fight my brother. I don’t even appreciate being asked about that,” Diaz said.

“They’re not real training partners though,” Diaz said about Jones and Evans. “You don’t understand, they’re like 10 years apart for one and they didn’t grow up training together…”

Now that Mr. Diaz is back in the Zuffa fold, Dana White and crew are no doubt looking forward to more ‘straight shooting’ from the Cesar Gracie star… In the meantime, if you’re not excited about Diaz facing Paul Daley next Saturday, you best keep that to yourself. To bet on the fight head here.