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Yushin Okami Vows to Take Away Anderson Silva’s Aura at UFC 134

What does it take to beat a guy like Anderson Silva? The favored answer would be a strong, aggressive wrestler with great submission defense. Despite being overlooked, these are the exact same qualities possessed by UFC middleweight contender Yushin Ok…

What does it take to beat a guy like Anderson Silva?

The favored answer would be a strong, aggressive wrestler with great submission defense. Despite being overlooked, these are the exact same qualities possessed by UFC middleweight contender Yushin Okami.

On August 27, Okami will finally get his long-awaited title bout in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at UFC 134 against arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world today, Anderson Silva.

“I will guarantee that [Anderson] will not be bored when fighting me,” Okami told MMAFighting.com in an email interview.

Silva’s dominant middleweight reign is legendary. Since defeating Rich Franklin for the UFC title in October 2006, he has successfully defended his throne a record eight times inside the octagon.

Most consider Silva to be one of the greatest fighters of all time. His ability to make some of the best fighters in the world look mediocre is nothing short of astonishing. At times, he even seems bored inside the octagon, which has led to questionable tactics in the past––such as hiding behind the ref, helping up a downed opponent during a fight, and busting out awkward gestures and dance-like movements.

Silva meets a familiar foe in Okami. The two went toe to toe in January 2006 at Rumble on the Rock 8, where Okami earned the victory after Silva was disqualified for an illegal upkick. The fight was stopped when a wobbled Okami wasn’t able to continue.

Silva wasn’t too happy about the way the fight went, and he even went on record to say that Okami could’ve continued but simply chose not to.

“It doesn’t matter what he thinks,” Okami said. “All I think about is defeating Anderson.”

Okami certainly has the style to present a legitimate threat to Silva’s reign. At UFC 117, Silva was completely outclassed by challenger Chael Sonnen for five rounds, but he was able to latch on a last minute triangle choke in the fifth round to retain his middleweight title.

Sonnen pushed the action on the feet throughout and secured takedown after takedown. Okami is a similar fighter with superior submission defense, and he should be able to take a page or two out of Sonnen’s book.

“Of course, Chael’s fight does give me some hints, but I am a different person, and therefore it will be a different fight,” Okami stated.

Born in Kanagwa, Japan, Okami hopes to boost the morale of a nation devastated by tragedy. The American success rate for Japanese fighters hasn’t been very good, but the statistics don’t seem to apply to Okami, who is a perennial contender and one of the top middleweights in the world.

“Winning the championship will be proof that an Asian can stand on top of the heavyweight contact sports world,” said Okami. “I believe that can also give strength to everyone in Japan and Asia. I hope the people of Japan will feel joy by seeing me become the champion.”

Okami is coming off two significant wins over Nate Marquardt and Mark Munoz, and his confidence level is through the roof. Fans are clamoring for a superfight between Silva and Georges St-Pierre, but it would be downright foolish to underestimate Okami’s chances.

He has the style to beat Silva, but can he get the job done?

“[Anderson’s] got an aura that intimidates any opponent,” said Okami. “I’m going to take that aura away from him.”

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Yushin Okami: "All I Think About Is Defeating Anderson (Silva)"

While the speculation surrounding a superfight between Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre continues to grow, Japanese star Yushin Okami looks to spoil that opportunity, as he will challenge the Brazilian for the UFC middleweight title at UFC Rio this…

The recent announcement of Okami and Silva became somewhat of a surprise to most mixed martial arts fans, as UFC president Dana White stated previously that Silva and St-Pierre would meet if both champions were to defeat their opponents, which they did, having essentially cleaned out their respective divisions.

But for now, it appears the UFC boss has other plans.

And for Okami, he seems quite content with being booked against Silva, who, after winning 10 of his last 12 UFC bouts, is ready to get his shot at the title.

“My opponent is the champion Anderson, the fight is in Brazil, and I am the challenger. I’d say that the table has been set,” he said to MMAFighting.com.

Okami has been eagerly awaiting a rematch with the champion ever since his debut in the UFC five years prior. In January, 2006, Okami was awarded the victory via disqualification after Silva landed an illegal kick that left the Japanese star unconscious and unable to continue.

While Okami said he believes Silva’s kick was not intentional, Silva has held a grudge against Okami and he publicly stated his opponent was able to continue the bout, but chose not to.

As a result, Okami is the last man to technically defeat Silva. And regarding Silva’s bad blood towards him, Okami said he could care less about what the Brazilian thinks of him.

“It doesn’t matter what he thinks,” he said. “All I think about is defeating Anderson.”

Okami has evolved since his first bout with Silva and has been paying close attention to the Brazilian’s recent performances, vowing that he will not be able to toy with him like he has done to past opponents.

“I will guarantee that he will not be bored when fighting me,” Okami said.

Although this won’t be their first encounter against one another, it will be the first time Silva defends his middleweight title in his homeland of Brazil, a difficult task Okami must overcome in order to beat the champion again.

Meanwhile, Silva, who will be defending his title for a unprecedented ninth time, is arguably the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighter and will look to exact revenge on Okami.

But Okami said he will not let the champion’s home-field advantage nor his mystique overwhelm him.

“He’s got an aura that intimidates any opponent,” he said. “I’m going to take that aura away from him.”

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Exclusive Video: Yushin Okami Talks Anderson Silva, His Desire to Become a Star in the UFC and Training With Sexyama

(Video courtesy of YouTube/Us)

Prior to the UFC revealing that the Japanese standout would be squaring off with middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC Rio in August, our Japanese correspondent Stewart Fulton visited Yushin Okami to interview him and take in a training session at Real Japan Wrestling gym in Tokyo.

Okami touched on a number of topics including the fact that he has been preparing for an inevitable showdown with Anderson, his training with Team Quest, Xtreme Couture and Yoshihiro Akiyama and his thoughts on a GSP-Silva super fight.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/Us)

We will have an update in the coming days from “Thunder” now that the bout is official and we’re hoping to get his thoughts on Silva’s recent allegations that he faked being injured by an illegal upkick to get out of their 2006 Rumble on the Rock bout.

Yushin Okami Says He’s Going to Take Anderson Silva’s Aura, Win UFC Title

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveMore and more, it seems like the proposed superfight between reigning champions Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre will not happen. After St-Pierre’s title defense on Saturday night, UFC president Dana White seemed…

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive

More and more, it seems like the proposed superfight between reigning champions Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre will not happen. After St-Pierre’s title defense on Saturday night, UFC president Dana White seemed more interested in seeing the welterweight king next defend his belt against Nick Diaz. But even before that, there had already been another obstacle placed in its path: Yushin Okami.

The longtime UFC middleweight star had for months been engaged in a waiting game. After beating Nate Marquardt last November, he had been promised an opportunity to fight for the title, but when White sheepishly asked Okami to simply bide his time while the UFC figured out its next move, the future date seemed more of an open-ended question than an iron-clad lock. Yet just two weeks before St-Pierre was to defend his belt and set up the dream match, the UFC surprised many by announcing that Silva-Okami would take place in Rio at UFC 134.

Anderson Silva Is Big Pimpin’ in His New Customized Camaro SS

“It’s good to be king”—Tom PettyWhen you’re sporting a new sled like UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva is, it sure is good to be the king.Silva has joined UFC hall of fame member Randy Couture by purchasing a new Camaro SS. But this isn’t j…

“It’s good to be king”—Tom Petty

When you’re sporting a new sled like UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva is, it sure is good to be the king.

Silva has joined UFC hall of fame member Randy Couture by purchasing a new Camaro SS. But this isn’t just any normal Camaro—this baby is tricked out like none other.

All the customizations done to this car are far too many to list. Thankfully, someone from the Camaro5.com forums took the time to break down everything West Coast Customs did to make the Camaro a one-of-a-kind for the “Spider.”

“The customization of Silva’s Camaro is extensive and to our eyes includes: custom paint, black stripes running from hood to tail, widened rear quarter fenders/shoulders with functional open rear quarter fender openings, Silva Bee grill emblem, Silva Bee embroidered headrest, back seats, trunk lid liner, and floormats, custom black spoke / yellow lip wheels, custom functional Transformers 2 style bumper air inlets, custom cowl ram air hood, custom, custom rear diffuser with exhaust outlet, black painted rear light bezel, SILVA door sills, alcantara headliner and door paneling, custom dashboard including driver facing gauges, dual colored seats, steering wheel, shift knob, contrasting stitching, in-dash screen, custom trunk subwoofer system and pop-up screens on rear quarter shoulders.”

Just reading everything that was done to the car isn’t enough to do it any justice. You can check out a bounty of pictures of this incredible ride by clicking here.

After eyeballing a similar Camaro at a local dealership for months, and getting financing all lined up, second thoughts must be sitting in. After seeing that incredible car, having something less sitting in your garage would put a frown on your face.

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Anderson Silva Says Yushin Okami Could Have Kept Fighting

Aside from a couple of nasty, ‘and that’s a wrap’ stoppage wins, it’s safe to say that Yushin Okami has struggled to entertain most fans with his grinding style. Like it or not, the guy is damn effective, and if he gets ahold of Anderson Silva for a prolonged time at UFC Rio, the living […]

Aside from a couple of nasty, ‘and that’s a wrap’ stoppage wins, it’s safe to say that Yushin Okami has struggled to entertain most fans with his grinding style. Like it or not, the guy is damn effective, and if he gets ahold of Anderson Silva for a prolonged time at UFC Rio, the living highlight reel may not be so thrilling.

How the action will unfold aside, the good news is that it’s looking like the pre-fight road to Silva vs. Okami II is not going to be completely void of drama. While Okami isn’t exactly known for the smack talk, he is the last dude to defeat Silva, and the renowned Brazilian champ apparently is still a wee bit irked about that fact. In a recent interview with the LA Times (thanks to ESPN U.K. for the heads up), Silva talked about his DQ loss to Okami in 2006, and offered this:

“I was a little surprised with his reaction to that [upkick],” Silva said in the LA Times. “Do I think he could have continued? I do think he could have continued. But he had the rules in his favour. I did an illegal kick and he chose that it was better not to continue.”… “I respect everybody and have a history in the sport and I believe people need to respect me. When they cross that line of respect is when they don’t really understand what happens.”

Huh. Is someone calling somebody a coward? The article also mentions that apparently Silva referred to Okami in the past as a “samurai without honor”…now that’s gotta hurt. See, this Silva vs. Okami II bout is shaping up just fine.