UFC 144 Akiyama, Okami, Gomi: How Will the Japanese Fighters Do?

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is making its long-awaited return to Japan this weekend, and the event promises to be a showcase for some of the best Japanese fighters in the world. Of the 12 fights scheduled to take place inside one of MM…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is making its long-awaited return to Japan this weekend, and the event promises to be a showcase for some of the best Japanese fighters in the world. Of the 12 fights scheduled to take place inside one of MMA‘s original shrines, the Saitama Superdome, eight will involve Japanese fighters.

The fighters are scattered throughout the preliminary and main card of the event and notables Takanori  “The Fireball Kid” Gomi, Hatsu Hioki, Yushin “Thunder” Okami and superstar “Sexyama” Yoshihiro Akiyama will all be in tough fights on this night.

It is the time for the Rising Sun to shine in MMA, and the stage is set for an incredible night for the Japanese faithful. Will it be a showcase or a beat down for Japanese MMA?

Here are my predictions for the Japanese fighters.

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UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson and Other Fights with Championship-Type Appeal

The upcoming UFC 144 in Japan on Saturday is stacked with championship-caliber fights.  Four of the fights feature at least one fighter who has either directly competed in a championship fight or been mentioned as a top contender.  One fight …

The upcoming UFC 144 in Japan on Saturday is stacked with championship-caliber fights.  

Four of the fights feature at least one fighter who has either directly competed in a championship fight or been mentioned as a top contender.  

One fight is a to gain ground in a suddenly tough and still growing division between two big MMA names. And finally, we have the actual Lightweight Championship fight.

I’m excited.  There is so much at stake in terms of relevance for many of these fighters that it could be a while before we see them in the spotlight again.

Let’s start with the sort of “honorable mention” fight…

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Watch This UFC 144 Preview and Get Hyped for the Octagon’s Return to Japan

(Video courtesy of Sapo/IronForgesIron)

If you weren’t excited about the next major Zuffa show on February 25 before, this 10-minute extended preview should get you pumped for the first UFC show in Japan in more than 10 years.

You know the card for UFC 144 is good when Yushin Okami, “Kid” Yamamoto and Hatsu Hioki are on the prelims. The card is stacked. Edgar versus Bendo will be a fast-paced chess match, Rampage versus Bader should be a slugfest, Hunt versus Kongo will be a K-1 bout in a cage and Pettis versus Lauzon is an interesting clash of styles. What’s not to like about this event?


(Video courtesy of Sapo/IronForgesIron)

If you weren’t excited about the next major Zuffa show on February 25 before, this 10-minute extended preview should get you pumped for the first UFC show in Japan.

You know the card for UFC 144 is good when Yushin Okami, “Kid” Yamamoto and Hatsu Hioki are on the prelims. The card is stacked. Edgar versus Bendo will be a fast-paced chess match, Rampage versus Bader should be a slugfest, Hunt versus Kongo will be a K-1 bout in a cage and Pettis versus Lauzon is an interesting clash of styles. What’s not to like about this event?

Considering that there will only be one event  between this event and the one in Sweden on April 14, it’s a good thing the card isn’t a dud, otherwise we might have all said, “I’m not going to accept this as a card. I think I’m done with this MMA stuff; I don’t think they can pay me enough to do this again.”

If only they would bring in the ramp and have crazy PRIDE lady make a guest spot, JMMA fans’ wet dream would be complete.

UFC 144
February 25, 2012
Saitama Super Arena
Saitama, Japan

Main Card (PPV)

Lightweight Championship Bout
Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Ryan Bader
Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon

Preliminary Card (FX)

Takanori Gomi vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch
Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski
Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto vs. Vaughan Lee
Riki Fukuda vs. Steve Cantwell
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Chris Cariaso

What pairings are you most looking forward to, Potato Nation?

It Won’t Be Long, We’ll Meet Again: The Five Most Necessary and Unnecessary Rematches of 2011


(I see trouble a brewin’ on the horizon.) 

Given their frequency within the sport, we oft discuss the rematch here at CagePotato: we’ve mentioned a few that we’d like to see, we’ve mocked the possible occurence of others, and we’ve even gone as far as to predict how future ones would go down. And with 2011 featuring over 10 in the UFC alone, we decided to take a look back at at a year that both showcased and disgraced the awesomeness that is the rematch. Join us on this trip down memory lane, won’t you?

The Ones We Needed to See 

#5 – Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami at UFC 134

(Silva v. Okami, though this image could be from just about any of Silva’s fights.) 

Why it had to happen: Because the first fight marked the last time Silva had lost…at anything, and even if it was by way of illegal upkick DQ, it was enough to convince some people that Okami had his number. Plus, Okami had earned his shot by this point, and we were getting pretty damned tired of debating this old issue.

How it happened: Absolute. Domination. In typical fashion, Silva toyed with Okami like he was wrestling with his 4 year old nephew, letting the audience know that the fight would end when he decided it would. A head kick that rocked Okami at the end of the first round reinforced this belief, and Silva mercifully finished him off in the second. Cut. Print. TKO.

What it proved: That, outside of Chael Sonnen, there are no threats left in the UFC’s middleweight division for Anderson Silva. As with Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Christiane “Cyborg” Santos, Silva must journey to another weight class if he desires a true challenge. Even DW is coming around to the idea, sort of.


(I see trouble a brewin’ on the horizon.) 

Given their frequency within the sport, we oft discuss the rematch here at CagePotato: we’ve mentioned a few that we’d like to see, we’ve mocked the possible occurence of others, and we’ve even gone as far as to predict how future ones would go down. And with 2011 featuring over 10 in the UFC alone, we decided to take a look back at at a year that both showcased and disgraced the awesomeness that is the rematch. Join us on this trip down memory lane, won’t you?

The Ones We Needed to See 

#5 – Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami at UFC 134

(Silva v. Okami, though this image could be from just about any of Silva’s fights.) 

Why it had to happen: Because the first fight marked the last time Silva had lost…at anything, and even if it was by way of illegal upkick DQ, it was enough to convince some people that Okami had his number. Plus, Okami had earned his shot by this point, and we were getting pretty damned tired of debating this old issue.

How it happened: Absolute. Domination. In typical fashion, Silva toyed with Okami like he was wrestling with his 4 year old nephew, letting the audience know that the fight would end when he decided it would. A head kick that rocked Okami at the end of the first round reinforced this belief, and Silva mercifully finished him off in the second. Cut. Print. TKO.

What it proved: That, outside of Chael Sonnen, there are no threats left in the UFC’s middleweight division for Anderson Silva. As with Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Christiane “Cyborg” Santos, Silva must journey to another weight class if he desires a true challenge. Even DW is coming around to the idea, sort of.

#4 – TIE: Leonard Garcia vs. Nam Phan/Chan Sung Jung at UFN 24 and UFC 136

(Deep in the recesses of my brain, a tiny, red hot little flame began to grow.) 

Why they needed to happen: Because not many believed Garcia beat Jung, and not even Greg Jackson believed he beat Phan.

How they happened: Things didn’t go so well for “Bad Boy” the second time around; after falling prey to Jung’s Submission of the Year earning twister at UFN 24, Garcia would be upended by Phan in a Fight of the Night earning performance at UFC 136. Though detrimental to Garcia’s career, it did restore the balance between the sacred realms that had been thrown into chaos as a result of his previous “victories.” And hey, at least he took it with class.

What they proved: That MMA judging has not followed the sport’s rapid evolution over the past ten years, and perhaps it was time for a change. We’ve already discussed what needs to be done, but are still waiting for our lawyer to draft up the official documents. Anyone else got an idea?

B/R MMA Official Rankings for December: Top 10 Middleweights in MMA

Bleacher Report MMA now brings you our official rankings for the month of December.For the remainder of the month, things in the middleweight division will be relativity quiet. We will not see any of the higher ranked fighters in action, but all of tha…

Bleacher Report MMA now brings you our official rankings for the month of December.

For the remainder of the month, things in the middleweight division will be relativity quiet. We will not see any of the higher ranked fighters in action, but all of that will change in early 2012 when we see Chael Sonnen face off against Mark Munoz at UFC on FOX 2.

Then, there is the ever-present question of when we will see Anderson Silva back in action and who he will face once he recovers from his injury. 

So, who make the Top 10 for the month of December? Continue on to find out.

 

These rankings are the combined effort of some of Bleacher Report MMA‘s best writers, as we continue to try and provide you with the best content on the web.

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Yushin Okami: UFC Will Bring the Heat in Japan

Filed under: UFC, News, JapanSeveral UFC fighters met the media in Japan over the weekend to promote the Feb. 26 UFC 144 show at the Saitama Super Arena, and one of the big questions facing the promotion is whether it can engage Japanese fans who have …

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Dan HerbertsonSeveral UFC fighters met the media in Japan over the weekend to promote the Feb. 26 UFC 144 show at the Saitama Super Arena, and one of the big questions facing the promotion is whether it can engage Japanese fans who have largely turned away from combat sports in recent years.

One of the Japanese fighters on the show, Yushin Okami, thinks there is no question that the UFC will deliver just the kind of product that Japanese fans want.

“It’s been a while since I’ve fought in Japan, so I’m excited. I would love to bring the heat and atmosphere of the real UFC over to Japan,” Okami said at the UFC’s press conference.

Okami has been the most successful Japanese fighter in the UFC, going 10-3 inside the Octagon and losing only to Anderson Silva, Chael Sonnen and Rich Franklin. But his long-term success in the UFC may actually make him less known to fans in his home country because he hasn’t fought back home in almost six years. While other successful Japanese MMA fighters have been fighting in front of Japanese fans, Okami has been fighting in the United States, with occasional stops in Ireland, Germany and Brazil. And Okami was never a big star in Japan, fighting only a couple of low-profile bouts in Pride.

So Okami’s name won’t move the needle in Japan, but his fight with Tim Boesch is a good middleweight matchup, and the card — headlined by Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson — is very impressive from top to bottom. What the UFC is bringing to Japan is just a very good fight card, the best that Japanese fans have seen in a long time.

 

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