Tag: Yoshihiro Akiyama

UFC 116 Post-Fight Press Conference

(Now who’s laughing? I mean at my MMA career, not my tattoo.)Just a reminder that we will have the post-fight presser right here at approximately 1:00am ET.
Will Chris Leben get Submission of the Night and Wanderlei Silva as his next opponent?
Wi…


(Now who’s laughing? I mean at my MMA career, not my tattoo.)

Just a reminder that we will have the post-fight presser right here at approximately 1:00am ET.

Will Chris Leben get Submission of the Night and Wanderlei Silva as his next opponent?

Will Sotiropoulos-Pellegrino or Soszynski-Bonnar get fight of the night?

Will Gerald Harris get Knockout of the Night for his slam KO of David Branch or will Dana give it to a main card fighter?

Who is getting dropped and who is getting a title shot next?

All of these questions and more will be answered below.

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Writer vs. Fighter: UFC 116 Predictions With Mike Swick

Filed under: UFCAfter finishing 10th out of over 2500 competitors in last week’s World Series of Poker, UFC fighter Mike Swick must be feeling pretty lucky. Either that, or he was not intimidated by my 0-3 record in Writer vs. Fighter and saw a chance …

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After finishing 10th out of over 2500 competitors in last week’s World Series of Poker, UFC fighter Mike Swick must be feeling pretty lucky. Either that, or he was not intimidated by my 0-3 record in Writer vs. Fighter and saw a chance for an easy victory. Whatever the reason, Swick was gracious enough to agree to face me in a UFC 116 prediction contest this afternoon, and for that I thank him.

I may have gotten smoked by “Babalu” Sobral in last week’s match-up, but I’m trying to stay positive. I figure it can only help me that I got Swick to make his predictions after he’d stayed up until 5 a.m. playing poker in Las Vegas, where he says he’s been doing “very well.”

Well Mr. Swick, prepare to have your fortunes changed. Maybe. Hopefully.

UFC 116: Leben Gets a Raise, Carwin Gets (Relative) Peanuts

Filed under: UFCAfter taking the fight on extremely short notice, Chris Leben is getting more money for fighting at UFC 116 than he got for fighting two weeks ago at the Ultimate Fighter Finale. And if Shane Carwin thinks he’s getting the short end of …

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Chris LebenAfter taking the fight on extremely short notice, Chris Leben is getting more money for fighting at UFC 116 than he got for fighting two weeks ago at the Ultimate Fighter Finale. And if Shane Carwin thinks he’s getting the short end of the pay stick on Saturday night, it’s hard to blame him.

Brock Lesnar, meanwhile, is making the same base salary for UFC 116 that he got at UFC 100, while Yoshihiro Akiyama — who’s also fighting for the first time since UFC 100 — will make a little more in base salary than he got last time, but probably a lot less once bonuses are factored into the equation.

That’s the basic takeaway from the purses for the four fighters in the UFC 116 main event and co-main event, which were disclosed by Nevada State Athletic Commissioner head Keith Kizer on Friday. More details below.

Yoshihiro Akiyama Clarifies Recent Comments About Chris Leben

You may recall last week hearing the sobs of Wanderlei Silva fans around the world, as word came down that “The Axe Murderer” would not fight at UFC 116, due to multiple injuries. It was a tough couple of days, no doubt, but we got through it… together. Now the man that Silva was supposed to […]

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You may recall last week hearing the sobs of Wanderlei Silva fans around the world, as word came down that “The Axe Murderer” would not fight at UFC 116, due to multiple injuries. It was a tough couple of days, no doubt, but we got through it… together. Now the man that Silva was supposed to fight, Yoshihiro Akiyama, was in fact truly devastated that he would not fight the former Pride champion this Saturday. When informed he would fight Chris Leben instead of Wandy, Akiyama’s reaction was rather similar to when we’re told last call is over- not good. The renowned judo competitor stated Leben wasn’t “a big name,” and that further, a no show for UFC 116 might just be in the cards (yeah- that would have gone over real well…) .

Of course, thankfully, Akiyama made the trip overseas and is set to fight Leben tomorrow night, and in the meantime, the Japanese middleweight has apparently been doing a little bit of damage control. Talking to MMA Junkie this week, Akiyama tried to clarify his recent comments, that probably didn’t score many points with Leben and his supporters.

“I’m very familiar with Chris’ popularity in the States, but compared to Wanderlei overseas, he’s a much bigger name in Korea and Japan,” Akiyama said through an interpreter. “For me, to improve the popularity of MMA in Japan is one of my goals as well.”

It also sounds like all is well between Dana White and Akiyama, as the UFC Prez was quoted saying “I understood,” in regards to “Sexyama’s” bitter disappointment that he’s no longer fighting Silva. Should be a good bout regardless. To bet on the tilt head here.

UFC 116: Preview and Predictions

Filed under: UFCAfter a serious health scare and a year away, UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will finally return to the Octagon Saturday night at UFC 116, and his return will come against his biggest opponent to date, the undefeated Shane Carwin…

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After a serious health scare and a year away, UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will finally return to the Octagon Saturday night at UFC 116, and his return will come against his biggest opponent to date, the undefeated Shane Carwin. It’s one of the biggest heavyweight battles in the history of mixed martial arts, and it’s the main event of what may be the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view show of the year. We’ve got the full preview and predictions below.

Chris Leben ‘Making History’ With 2-Week Layoff for UFC 116

Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC

Although the UFC doesn’t have an official record book, Chris Leben is believed to be on his way to setting a new UFC record on Saturday night at UFC 116, fighting on only two weeks off for the shortest layoff ever since th…

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Although the UFC doesn’t have an official record book, Chris Leben is believed to be on his way to setting a new UFC record on Saturday night at UFC 116, fighting on only two weeks off for the shortest layoff ever since the UFC stopped having one-night tournaments.

Leben, who beat Aaron Simpson on June 19 and then agreed to fill in for the injured Wanderlei Silva against Yoshihiro Akiyama on July 3, says it’s a source of pride to him that he could do something no UFC fighter has ever done before.