Yoshihiro Akiyama Says He’s Used to Playing Role of Bad Guy

Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, VideosLONDON — MMA Fighting spoke to Yoshihiro Akiyama on Wednesday about his upcoming UFC 120 bout against Michael Bisping, why he decided to train with Greg Jackson for this fight, his loss to Chris …

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LONDON — MMA Fighting spoke to Yoshihiro Akiyama on Wednesday about his upcoming UFC 120 bout against Michael Bisping, why he decided to train with Greg Jackson for this fight, his loss to Chris Leben and whether he minds being booed on Saturday night because he is fighting the fan favorite, Bisping.



UFC 120 Quick Picks

These are some quick picks as I’ve been tied up recently and unable to focus on UFC 120 London Bisping vs Akiyama. Main card Welterweight bout: James Wilks vs. Claude Patrick James Wilks, Claude Patrick appears to have a sick guillotine choke Heavyweight bout: Cheick Kongo vs. Travis Browne Travis Browne Welterweight bout: John Hathaway […]

These are some quick picks as I’ve been tied up recently and unable to focus on UFC 120 London Bisping vs Akiyama.

Main card

Welterweight bout: James Wilks vs. Claude Patrick
James Wilks, Claude Patrick appears to have a sick guillotine choke

Heavyweight bout: Cheick Kongo vs. Travis Browne
Travis Browne

Welterweight bout: John Hathaway vs. Mike Pyle
John Hathaway this guy is really great.

Welterweight bout: Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit
Dan Hardy

Middleweight bout: Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
Akiyama

Prelim Card

Light Heavyweight bout: James McSweeney vs. Fabio Maldonado

Lightweight bout: Spencer Fisher vs. Kurt Warburton

Lightweight bout: Paul Sass vs. Mark Holst

Light Heavyweight bout: Steve Cantwell vs. Stanislav Nedkov
Steve Cantwell

Heavyweight bout: Rob Broughton vs. Vinicius Queiroz

Light Heavyweight bout: Cyrille Diabaté vs. Alexander Gustafsson

Will Bisping’s Size Play a Part in UFC 120 Fight with Akiyama?

(Video courtesy YouTube/TwinkleToesTommy)
Besides his proclamation that he’s simply a better fighter than Yoshihiro Akiyama, Michael Bisping has been asserting for weeks that the biggest factor in him beating the Japanese-born Korean fighter will be th…

(Video courtesy YouTube/TwinkleToesTommy)

Besides his proclamation that he’s simply a better fighter than Yoshihiro Akiyama, Michael Bisping has been asserting for weeks that the biggest factor in him beating the Japanese-born Korean fighter will be the size advantage he will hold over Sexyama when they square off Saturday night in London at UFC 120.

The question is, will Bisping’s purported size advantage actually give him a leg up on Akiyama or will it hinder his performance?

Historically, when fighters add size, they subtract at least some speed from their arsenal as well as an exponential amount of cardiovascular endurance as a result of needing to accommodate the oxygen requirements of keeping their larger muscles stocked with ATP.

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UFC 120 Betting Odds Preview

We’ll update this post again on Friday, but here’s a quick look at UFC 120 betting odds values.
:: The books are virtually the same across the board for Yoshihiro Akiyama vs Michael Bisping, but if you think Akiyama has a good shot (we do), grab him at +180 here.
:: We’re looking forward to Carlos Condit vs. […]

UFC-120-betting-odds
We’ll update this post again on Friday, but here’s a quick look at UFC 120 betting odds values.

:: The books are virtually the same across the board for Yoshihiro Akiyama vs Michael Bisping, but if you think Akiyama has a good shot (we do), grab him at +180 here.

:: We’re looking forward to Carlos Condit vs. Dan Hardy, and think the lines are about right. Be interested to see where the line moves the next couple of days. If you like Hardy, take the -160 here. If you’re high on Condit, then +145 at BetUS is your best value here.

:: And if you like taking the dog in the biggest odds disparity fights of the night (Mike Pyle vs. John Hathaway), grab Pyle at +400 here.

MMA FightPicker Update: Your UFC 120 Picks, Give Them to Us

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)
We know that times are tough. So when you have a chance to bet fake money on an event that’s being broadcast for free on basic cable, you have to jump on it. This week, MMA Fightpicker presents questions related to Saturda…

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

We know that times are tough. So when you have a chance to bet fake money on an event that’s being broadcast for free on basic cable, you have to jump on it. This week, MMA Fightpicker presents questions related to Saturday’s UFC 120 event in London (Spike TV, 8 p.m. ET/PT). Will Bisping vs. Akiyama go the distance? Will the main card’s heavyweight feature end with a dude getting his ass KTFO? Out of the seven British fighters in the lineup, how many will actually win? Check out the full list of pool questions after the jump, and throw down your predictions at fightpicker.cagepotato.com or apps.facebook.com/fightpicker

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Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama: Head to Head

This Saturday in London, UFC middleweight Michael Bisping will get home-court advantage in his headlining fight against Yoshihiro Akiyama. Bisping is coming off a decision win against Dan Miller at UFC 114, while Akiyama will try to rebound from his …

Michael Bisping UFC 120 posterYoshihiro Akiyama UFC 120 poster

This Saturday in London, UFC middleweight Michael Bisping will get home-court advantage in his headlining fight against Yoshihiro Akiyama. Bisping is coming off a decision win against Dan Miller at UFC 114, while Akiyama will try to rebound from his submission loss to Chris Leben. Of course, you can’t always predict a fight’s outcome just by looking at recent performances. So let’s go to the stats and see if we can figure this sum’bitch out…

UFC RECORD
Bisping: 9-3
Akiyama: 1-1
Advantage: Bisping

NICKNAME
Bisping: "The Count"
Akiyama: "Sexyama"
Advantage: Akiyama

PERFORMANCE AGAINST COMMON OPPONENTS
Bisping: Defeated Denis Kang via TKO R2, defeated Chris Leben via unanimous decision
Akiyama: Defeated Denis Kang via KO R1, lost to Chris Leben by submission (triangle choke) R3 
Advantage: Bisping

CAN HE SELL OUT AN ARENA WITH A MUSIC CONCERT?
Bisping: No
Akiyama: Yes
Advantage: Akiyama

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