Tag: Yushin Okami

UFC: Dana White Says Anderson Silva Is ‘The Greatest Mixed Martial Artist Ever’

As UFC 134 approaches, it will have felt like an eternity since the last time the UFC or Anderson Silva has competed in Brazil.Previously dubbed “UFC Rio”, it will mark the first time in 12 years since UFC fought on Brazilian soil and it will feature t…

As UFC 134 approaches, it will have felt like an eternity since the last time the UFC or Anderson Silva has competed in Brazil.

Previously dubbed “UFC Rio”, it will mark the first time in 12 years since UFC fought on Brazilian soil and it will feature the UFC Middleweight Champion in the main event, as he looks to defend his title against Yushin Okami. 

While promoting the event during a pre-fight press conference earlier this week, several of the promotion’s prominent Brazilian’s were in attendance, including Silva. And he has every right to hold the spotlight as the Brazilian is arguably the sport’s pound-for pound top fighter and one of the most successful fighters to reside from Brazil. 

However UFC president Dana White, who was also in attendance, added another moniker to Silva’s already-legandary career. 

“He’s never lost in the UFC,” White said, courtesy of MMAFighting.com.

“He’s got the longest [UFC] win streak ever, at 13-0. And in my opinion, he’s the greatest mixed martial artist ever,” he added. 

Although the argument could be made, based on Silva’s resume, it certainly won’t hurt the Brazilian’s case, as he will be thrusted into the spotlight and advertised as the main attraction of the event.  

According to White, the success that the company has benefited from internationally could reach new heights when they host UFC Rio. Due to the amount of revenue the UFC has generated from international expansion, it makes the trip to Brazil feel long overdue.

“We should’ve been here sooner. It means a lot for us to be here,” he admitted.

“Obviously, these guys have fought all over the world—Japan, the United States, the UK, Abu Dhabi. You name it, they’ve fought everywhere. I know how much it means to the guys to finally be able to fight in their home country and in front of their people.”

And no other fighter seems to be more excited and motivated to perform in Brazil, than Anderson Silva.

His bout with Okami will be a rematch from 2006 that saw both competitors square off at Rumble on the Rock. Silva dominated his opponent but landed an illegal upkick that would cost him the fight and ultimately see Okami’s hand raised in victory.

Not only will the Curitiba native be searching for his 15th victory in the Octagon, but for some revenge as well. The loss to Okami will likely add motivation for Silva to perform to the best of his ability, and with the middleweight division waring thin of challengers, this will be one of the more intriguing bouts of Silva’s career.

“I’m very happy to be here in Brazil. It’s motivation,” Silva said.

“For sure, I’m going to give it all to represent my country, my Brazilian fans and my family as well.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Reminder: Watch the UFC 134 Press Conference Live From Rio at 2:00 pm ET

Just a friendly reminder that we will have the stream of the UFC 134 press conference for your viewing pleasure starting at 2:00 pm ET.

Here are a few of the faces you can expect to see at the event:

I may be way off, but why would the UFC fly in a bunch of fighters for a press conference for an event that will likely be a guaranteed sellout unless it was to announce an exciting ‘special’ addition to the card, like say Royce Gracie vs. Cris Cyborg or Eddie Bravo vs. Royler Gracie.

Let the baseless speculation begin. Best answer gets to slap ReX next time you see him.

Check out the presser stream after the jump.

Just a friendly reminder that we will have the stream of the UFC 134 press conference for your viewing pleasure starting at 2:00 pm ET.

Here are a few of the faces you can expect to see at the event:

I may be way off, but why would the UFC fly in a bunch of fighters for a press conference for an event that will likely be a guaranteed sellout unless it was to announce an exciting ‘special’ addition to the card, like say Royce Gracie vs. Cris Cyborg or Eddie Bravo vs. Royler Gracie.

Let the baseless speculation begin. Best answer gets to slap ReX next time you see him.

Check out the presser stream after the jump.

MMA Top 10 Middleweights: Mark Munoz Rises

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Rankings, MiddleweightsCould Mark Munoz be a future contender to Anderson Silva’s middleweight title? That’s a question few people would have asked before UFC 131. But after Munoz beat Demian Maia, it’s a serious question…

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Could Mark Munoz be a future contender to Anderson Silva‘s middleweight title? That’s a question few people would have asked before UFC 131. But after Munoz beat Demian Maia, it’s a serious question.

After defeating Maia, Munoz is 6-1 since moving down to middleweight, with the only loss coming by split decision to Yushin Okami, the UFC‘s current No. 1 middleweight contender. Munoz is probably only one more win away from being the UFC’s best option to fight Silva, assuming Silva beats Okami.

Munoz would be a huge underdog to Silva, of course, but every middleweight is a huge underdog to Silva. And Munoz, a former NCAA champion wrestler, at least has the tools to threaten Silva where he’s weakest. Munoz and Silva are friends and training partners, and they might not wish to fight each other. But if both of them win their next fights, we could be heading toward a situation where fighting each other is what the UFC asks them to do.

See where I have Munoz ranked among the middleweights in MMA below.

(Editor’s note: The individual fighter’s ranking the last time we did middleweights are in parentheses.)

1. Anderson Silva (1): The last time Silva lost, it was by disqualification when he illegally kicked Okami in the head on the ground. Since then Silva is 14-0, with half of those wins coming by first round knockout or technical knockout.

2. Chael Sonnen (2): Sonnen still deserves to be ranked No. 2 because of his impressive win over Okami and his tough fight with Silva, but soon he’s going to start dropping because of inactivity. There doesn’t seem to be any end in sight for Sonnen’s problems getting an athletic commission to license him.

3. Vitor Belfort (3): Belfort’s 19-9 record really doesn’t do his career justice, as the nine losses are to a who’s who of great fighters: He’s lost to Randy Couture twice, Alistair Overeem twice and Kazushi Sakuraba, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Dan Henderson and Anderson Silva. Up next for Belfort is Yoshihiro Akiyama.

4. Yushin Okami (4): Although Okami does technically have a victory over Silva on his record, Silva was getting the better of Okami before he was disqualified for the illegal kick. If Okami can beat Silva in their August rematch in Rio, it would probably be the biggest upset of the year in MMA.

5. Mark Munoz (NR): Getting knocked cold by Matt Hamill might have been the best thing to ever happen to Munoz. That fight made him decide to move down from 205 pounds to 185, and he’s much more impressive at the lighter weight.

6. Demian Maia (5): The Maia-Munoz fight could have gone either way, and even in defeat Maia showed that his striking is continuing to improve. However, the fight also showed that Maia can’t just submit anyone he gets to the ground. In his first five UFC fights Maia submitted all five opponents, but in his last six fights he hasn’t submitted anyone.

7. Brian Stann (6): A matchup between Stann and Munoz would make a lot of sense as a next step for the UFC, and the winner would have a strong case for being the next No. 1 contender in the middleweight division.

8. Ronaldo Souza (7): Jacare, the Strikeforce middleweight champion, will defend his title against Luke Rockhold in September. Rockhold is 7-1, and all seven wins are by first-round stoppage, but he’s not on the same level as Jacare, who should be able to make Rockhold tap.

9. Wanderlei Silva (8): The soon-to-be 35-year-old Silva isn’t the fighter he once was, but his UFC 132 fight with Chris Leben promises to be an all-out war. And if he wins in spectacular fashion, it’s possible that the Axe Murderer could get the next shot at the middleweight belt.

10. Michael Bisping (10): With no UFC events in England this year, Bisping will not have any fights in his homeland for the first year since 2006, when he was an Ultimate Fighter contestant. Instead Bisping will coach on The Ultimate Fighter and take on Jason “Mayhem” Miller in December.

 

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UFC Rio: Coaches Say Anderson Silva Is ‘Motivated’ for Yushin Okami

Prior to his title bout against Yushin Okami at UFC Rio, Anderson Silva has been preparing at X-Gym in Rio de Janeiro, where his coaches are confident in the Brazilian’s abilities to walk away with a victory on Aug. 27. Coaches Rogerio Camoes and …

Prior to his title bout against Yushin Okami at UFC Rio, Anderson Silva has been preparing at X-Gym in Rio de Janeiro, where his coaches are confident in the Brazilian’s abilities to walk away with a victory on Aug. 27. 

Coaches Rogerio Camoes and Josuel Distak spoke with TATAME.com and explained their strategy to ensure that Silva is focused and prepared ahead of his upcoming bout.

“We’ve started the interim’s training and we’ll do that until August, when Anderson will fight in UFC Rio, besides other athletes,” Camoes said. 

The two competitors share a past with one another, as they competed at Rumble on the Rock in 2006 in a bout that saw Silva dominate his opponent until he landed an illegal upkick that awarded Okami with the victory. Ever since then, it has left Silva prepared to seek out revenge against the Japanese star. 

And there is not a more fitting opportunity than for Silva to relish the idea of exacting revenge on his foe than in his home country of Brazil. That event will feature some of the most prominent Brazilian fighters in mixed martial arts today including Anderson Silva, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. 

It is a bout that Distak said holds implications for not only Silva but for Okami, too.

“Both for Anderson and Okami, this being a rematch is really interesting, and it’s really important because he’s coming for a rematch, so he has a big responsibility to put on a good show in Brazil,” he said. 

And it is this rematch that both coaches hold a lot admiration for Silva, which Camoes said he expects for both fighters to put a great performance, especially Okami. 

“Okami has to be on his best to fight in Brazil,” Camoes said.

“It’d be tough on Okami, because Anderson is a lot motivated for it, he’ll be defending his country at home.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Rio: Anderson Silva Trains and Prepares for Yushin Okami

The UFC will return to Brazil for the first time in 12 years when they travel to Rio de Janeiro to host UFC Rio on August 27, live from the HSBC Arena. Headlining the event is a middleweight title bout featuring Anderson Silva and Yushin…

The UFC will return to Brazil for the first time in 12 years when they travel to Rio de Janeiro to host UFC Rio on August 27, live from the HSBC Arena. 

Headlining the event is a middleweight title bout featuring Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami.

The two competitors met previously in 2006, which saw Okami defeat the Brazilian via disqualification and he is the last opponent to technically beat Silva. 

Courtesy of TATAME.com, TATAME TV followed Silva to X-Gym in Brazil where they filmed some of his training regime ahead of his upcoming title defense against Okami.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Sonnen Responds to Silva’s ‘Loser’ Comment and Gives His Thoughts On Bisping and Miller as TUF 14 Coaches


(“Your perfume is making me feel nauseous.”)

The beauty of social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter for fighters is that they can get whatever message they want across however they want it written. Of course there’s also an ugly side to that reality. Just ask anyone who subscribes to Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson’s Twitter feeds.

Chael Sonnen is one of the fighters who embraces the ADHD-friendly 140 character limit messaging service as it gives him a platform from which to aim punchline-heavy zingers at whomever he wants without having to deal with annoying follow-up questions from reporters.

Sonnen, who was noticeably absent from the Twitterverse while his court and athletic commission issues were being ironed, is once again an active tweeter and has been taking aim at a few fellow UFC middleweights the past few days.


(“Your perfume is making me feel nauseous.”)

The beauty of social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter for fighters is that they can get whatever message they want across however they want it written. Of course there’s also an ugly side to that reality. Just ask anyone who subscribes to Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson’s Twitter feeds.

Chael Sonnen is one of the fighters who embraces the ADHD-friendly 140 character limit messaging service as it gives him a platform from which to aim punchline-heavy zingers at whomever he wants without having to deal with annoying follow-up questions from reporters.

Sonnen, who was noticeably absent from the Twitterverse while his court and athletic commission issues were being ironed, is once again an active tweeter and has been taking aim at a few fellow UFC middleweights the past few days.

First, the former Oregon real estate agent set his sites on The Ultimate Fighter 14 coaches Michael Bisping and his ex-Team Quest teammate Jason Miller (who replaced Sonnen on the show after the Nevada State Athletic Commission refused to grant him a second’s license due to his suspension in California for unapproved testosterone replacement use).

It’s likely that he’s looking to face the winner of the two who takes their planned December bout, so the PR move makes sense.

Then Chael responded to Anderson Silva’s recent comments to Tatame that his upcoming opponent Yushin Okami shouldn’t train for their fight with a “loser” like Sonnen.

If pulling out a triangle when down four rounds to none and knocking out an apt contender with a highlight reel front-kick KO isn’t putting up a fight, I don’t know what is. Then again, he was a politician and denial is one of their inherent qualities.