Fan favorite Yoshihiro Akiyama will officially be making the drop to the welterweight division come this February.After a long and storied career as a middleweight, where Akiyama has scored memorable victories over the likes of Melvin Manhoef, Denis Ka…
Fan favorite Yoshihiro Akiyama will officially be making the drop to the welterweight division come this February.
After a long and storied career as a middleweight, where Akiyama has scored memorable victories over the likes of Melvin Manhoef, Denis Kang and Alan Belcher, the Judoka finds himself in need of a win, and what better way to motivate yourself than have a clean slate as a welterweight.
Since entering the Octagon in July of 2009, Akiyama has been a part of three “Fight of the Night” performances in his four outings under the Zuffa banner, though he is currently on an 0-3 skid as of late.
After back-and-forth battles against Chris Leben and Michael Bisping, Akiyama fell victim to the brutal punching power of former champion Vitor Belfort, who recorded the knockout victory in less than two minutes in their battle this August.
Now trying to make amends at 170 pounds, the grappling ace will be taking on former Strikeforce champ Jake Shields in a “do or die” battle for both men, as the loser is likely to be served with his walking papers from the UFC with a poor performance.
Shields has also been in dire straits as of late. After making good on his UFC debut against Martin Kampmann, Shields challenged Georges St-Pierre for the title, though the Cesar Gracie black belt dropped a close decision victory to the Canadian, who snapped his previous 15-fight win streak.
After the the contentious battle with St-Pierre, Shields fell victim to “The Juggernaut” Jake Ellenberger, who throttled the submission ace in less than one minute thanks to an onslaught of knees and punches which recorded the knockout victory in 53 seconds.
Looking to remain relevant fixtures in the UFC, both Shields and Akiyama will likely be fighting for their positions within the organization as they do battle at UFC 144, which takes place at the Super Saitama Arena in Japan—where the former HERO’s light heavyweight Grand Prix champion first built his star under the K-1 banner.
Filed under: UFC, NewsYoshihiro Akiyama will make the move down to welterweight to tangle with former divisional No. 1 contender Jake Shields at UFC 144 in Japan.
Akiyama had lost three straight as a middleweight, dropping bouts to Vitor Belfort, Michael Bisping and Chris Leben, and it had been feared that he may be cut from the promotion. Instead, he finds new life as a 170-pounder.
The 36-year-old, who is 13-4 with 2 no contests, will no doubt help sell tickets in his native Japan.
Meanwhile, Shields will be looking to bounce back from his 53-second knockout loss at the hands of Jake Ellenberger in September. The defeat came just two weeks after the passing of his father, Jack.
Shields is 26-6-1 overall.
UFC 144 will take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan and features a main event of UFC lightweight champ Frank Edgar against challenger Ben Henderson.
Yoshihiro Akiyama has done it again. The Japanese sex symbol known to most as simply “Sexyama,” appeared on a Japanese talk show this week to reveal his new single and let’s just say there likely wasn’t a dry seat in the house.
We’ve done you a solid by providing the translation of the UFC middleweight-turned-welterweight‘s silky smooth lyrics, and without ruining it for you we’ll just say that Beyonce and Jay-Z have both been simultaneously put on notice.
Check out another scintillating song from the sexy one himself after the jump.
Yoshihiro Akiyama has done it again. The Japanese sex symbol known to most as simply “Sexyama,” appeared on a Japanese talk show this week to reveal his new single and let’s just say there likely wasn’t a dry seat in the house.
We’ve done you a solid by providing the translation of the UFC middleweight-turned-welterweight‘s silky smooth lyrics, and without ruining it for you we’ll just say that Beyonce and Jay-Z have both been simultaneously put on notice.
Check out another scintillating song from the sexy one himself:
Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama is moving to the welterweight division.Akiyama was recently in action at UFC 133, fighting against former UFC champion Vitor Belfort.He was knocked out in the first round by Belfort, marking his third straight loss …
Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama is moving to the welterweight division.
Akiyama was recently in action at UFC 133, fighting against former UFC champion Vitor Belfort.
He was knocked out in the first round by Belfort, marking his third straight loss in the UFC and moving his record with the organization to 1-3.
After UFC 133, UFC President Dana White revealed that, for some time, he had been wanting Akiyama to drop down to welterweight, claiming that he could easily make the cut.
According to Japanese news outlet Sponichi, Akiyama will be taking the UFC President’s advice and dropping from middleweight to welterweight.
In addition to the change in weight, Akiyama is also making a change in scenery. He has closed his gym in Japan and is planning on training in North America with Team Jackson, alongside UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
Hopefully this career-reorientation will be what Akiyama needs to get back on track, as he is likely one loss away from being cut by the UFC.
Akiyama made his Octagon debut by defeating Alan Belcher by split-decision and since then has lost consecutively to Chris Leben, Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort.
When he will make his welterweight debut and who he will be fighting has not been announced, but the UFC is planning to hold an event in Japan in the near future. It’s very likely that Akiyama would be featured on that card.
I’m looking, but I don’t see one ounce I’d be willing to part with.
It looks like Dana White is getting his wish. Following his first round KO loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 133, Yoshihiro Akiyama will be making the cut to 170lbs. Like any professional model, “Sexiyama” knows that thin is in, and after dropping three straight in the Middleweight division the judoka hopes to reignite his career as a welterweight.
Akiyama strutted into the Octogon sporting a 12-1 (2 no contests) record in Japan, but he hasn’t fared too well in the UFC. After snatching a split decision win over Alan Belcher, he fell victim to a last minute Chris Leben triangle, was outpointed by Michael Bisping, and dropped cold by “The Phenom”. Although he has lined his pockets with an additional $135k thanks to three “Fight of the Night” bonuses, at some point you’ve got to pick up a ‘W’ if you want to keep fighting under the bright lights…generally speaking.
I’m looking, but I don’t see one ounce I’d be willing to part with.
It looks like Dana White is getting his wish. Following his first round KO loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 133, Yoshihiro Akiyama will be making the cut to 170lbs. Like any professional model, “Sexiyama” knows that thin is in, and after dropping three straight in the Middleweight division the judoka hopes to reignite his career as a welterweight.
Akiyama strutted into the Octogon sporting a 12-1 (2 no contests) record in Japan, but he hasn’t fared too well in the UFC. After snatching a split decision win over Alan Belcher, he fell victim to a last minute Chris Leben triangle, was outpointed by Michael Bisping, and dropped cold by “The Phenom”. Although he has lined his pockets with an additional $135k thanks to three “Fight of the Night” bonuses, at some point you’ve got to pick up a ‘W’ if you want to keep fighting under the bright lights…generally speaking.
If the weight drop wasn’t indication enough that Akiyama is looking to reinvent himself, then certainly his desire to mix up training camps is. Akiyama has expressed an interest in joining forces with welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre and serving as his “apprentice”. While one could not find better inspiration, seeking a mentor in your own weight class can have its downsides. Not to mention that apprenticeships don’t always turn out as you’d hoped.
Your comments about the two trading greasing secrets go below.
Funny thing about literal translations: they’re rarely very good at saying exactly what you mean, rather they tend to sort-of-in-a-general-way communicate a rough idea. And sometimes, they’re downright misleading. Take judo, for example. The Japanese translates into English imprecisely to begin with: ju translates literally as “gentle” or “soft”, while do is “way” or “path”. Both of these concepts relate more to the philosophy of judo — conservation of energy and an emphasis on technique — than a description of the style and action. Ask anyone who’s ever tried a few classes in the “gentle way“, and they’ll tell you that it’s anything but. Any class that begins with learning how to fall down with minimal pain runs a significant risk of being brutal.
Judo was born in the late 19th Century by a Japanese jujitsu fella by the name of Jiguro Kano, known to his brodogs as “Da Jigumon”. Kano had begun training as a result of being bullied growing up —a storythat stillrings truethrough time. At the time, “jujitsu” was something of a generic term for unarmed fighting, and schools varied wildy in technique, training methods, and instruction.
Funny thing about literal translations: they’re rarely very good at saying exactly what you mean; rather, they tend to sort-of-in-a-general-way communicate a rough idea. And sometimes, they’re downright misleading. Take judo, for example. The Japanese translates into English imprecisely to begin with: ju translates literally as “gentle” or “soft”, while do is “way” or “path”. Both of these concepts relate more to the philosophy of judo — conservation of energy and an emphasis on technique — than a description of the style and action. Ask anyone who’s ever tried a few classes in the “gentle way“, and they’ll tell you that it’s anything but. Any class that begins with learning how to fall down with minimal pain runs a significant risk of being brutal.
Judo was born in the late 19th Century by a Japanese jujitsu fella by the name of Jiguro Kano, known to his brodogs as “Da Jigumon”. Kano had begun training as a result of being bullied growing up –a storythat stillrings truethrough time. At the time, “jujitsu” was something of a generic term for unarmed fighting, and schools varied wildy in technique, training methods, and instruction.
Kano redefined weaponless combat by focusing on a relative handful of techniques from jujitsu schools, emphasizing techniques that were a) actually applicable in real life situations (so they threw out the Scorpion kick and the Torture Rack) and b) safe to practice on a live partner (so they dropped the tiger claw eye gouge to spinal cord asplosion touch of death).
His break from practicing martial arts primarily through kata (waving your arms around in the air and looking all silly) and placing an importance on randori (actual ass kicking with a real live person) was revolutionary.
Japanese jujitsu schools continued to develop, influence, and challenge judo. It was a small jujitsu school (Fusen ryu) that was on the vanguard of ground-based grappling that led to a heightened interest in learning something besides how to throw someone to the ground really hard. The result was a surge of ne waza judo around the turn of the century, just when Mitsuyo Maeda was studying martial arts. A student of both classical-style jujitsu and Jiguro Kano’s judo, Maeda emigrated to Brazil before World War I, where he met a Brazilian fella by the name of Gracie. But that’s a whole other story.
Judo continues to evolve, particularly the rules of international competition. But throwing somebody down really hard is still really, really awesome.
Judo Strengths
Judo players tend to bring a great deal of upper body strength to the cage for MMA, and their standing clinch work is as good as any style. They tend to be explosive athletes, with knockout power. Add to that training with submissions and ground fighting, and it is a powerful base.
Judo’s popularity in MMA waxes and wanes — remember when Karo Parisyan was an exciting new prospect? — and with an influx of new blood lately, interest is gaining again.
The uchi mata is one of the throws you may spot in MMA. Megumi Fujii has a beautiful uchi mata, and that’s not slang for anything. Judo master/sambo savant/all-round grappling ninja Gokor Chivichyan won a gold medal at the 2008 USJA/USJF Winter Nationals with an uchi mata, and we found this very cool video of his demonstrating a slick kneebar off of a defended uchi mata. And that’s just one throw. Judo has, like, a whole lot.
Ok, Nation, brush up on your Japanese, go watch a few YouTube videos, and get out there and start hip tossing fools. It’s what Jiguro Kano would want.*
Fan favorite Yoshihiro Akiyama will officially be making the drop to the welterweight division come this February.
Yoshihiro Akiyama
