Dana White Calls Yushin Okami the Best Japanese Fighter Ever

Filed under: UFCUFC President Dana White is fond of saying that the only way to prove you’re the best fighter in the world is to do it in the UFC. It’s not that there aren’t any good fighters in other promotions, White believes, it’s just that the only…

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UFC President Dana White is fond of saying that the only way to prove you’re the best fighter in the world is to do it in the UFC. It’s not that there aren’t any good fighters in other promotions, White believes, it’s just that the only fighters who consistently test themselves against the best in the world are the ones who do it inside the Octagon.

By that rationale, White says Yushin Okami — who will fight Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight title at UFC 134 — is the greatest Japanese fighter in MMA history.

“In my opinion, Yushin Okami is the best fighter ever to come out of Japan,” White said. “This guy didn’t fight cans and get this built-up, mythological record.”

Fighters who fight “cans” and build up a “mythological record” are a constant thorn in the side of White, who regularly complains about fans and members of the media who proclaim Fedor Emelianenko — whose best moments came in Japan, and who never fought in the UFC — as the greatest fighter in history. White always insists that Silva is the best ever, and now that he’s promoting Silva against Okami, he’s talking up Okami as the best ever to come out of Japan.

A lot of longtime fans of Japanese MMA — especially the fans from the Pride days — would disagree. Kazushi Sakuraba, Takanori Gomi, Kid Yamamoto, Hayoto Sakurai, Caol Uno and Shinya Aoki could all make a case that they’ve accomplished more in mixed martial arts than Okami has.

White is right, however, that none of those fighters have proven it in the Octagon. Aoki has never fought in the UFC. Sakuraba and Sakurai each fought in the UFC just once, with Sakuraba fighting on the UFC’s Japan card in 1997, and Sakurai losing to Matt Hughes in 2002. Gomi and Yamamoto are both currently under contract to the UFC, but both were past their prime before they ever appeared inside the Octagon. Uno had some success in the UFC and fought twice for the UFC lightweight title, but his overall record in the UFC was just 3-5-2.

And White is surely right that if Okami beats Silva — a very big “if” — he would have an excellent case that he’s the best fighter ever to come out of Japan. Okami has already beaten Silva once, although that was a controversial disqualification. If Okami were to beat Silva convincingly, that would become the signature win of his career and completely transform his reputation, while simultaneously knocking Silva from the top of the pound-for-pound rankings.

“Anderson Silva is fighting for his legacy,” White said. “Yushin Okami is fighting for respect.”

For Okami, White believes, a win over Silva would make it impossible for anyone to deny that he’s the greatest fighter ever to come out of Japan.

“If he wins this fight,” White said, “he’ll get the credit he finally deserves.”

 

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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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Kenny Robertson Out of UFC 122 Debut Against Pascal Krauss

Filed under: UFC, NewsUFC newcomer Kenny Robertson has been forced out of his promotional debut against Pascal Krauss.

Robertson posted the news on his Facebook page on Tuesday, and sources close to the bout also confirmed the injury with MMA Fightin…

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UFC newcomer Kenny Robertson has been forced out of his promotional debut against Pascal Krauss.

Robertson posted the news on his Facebook page on Tuesday, and sources close to the bout also confirmed the injury with MMA Fighting.

Robertson had been scheduled to meet Krauss, also a UFC newcomer, in a welterweight bout on the preliminary card of UFC 122 in Oberhausen, Germany, on Nov. 13. It is not yet known who will replace Robertson on the card.

Darren Elkins to Meet Edson Barboza at UFC 123

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsLightweight Darren Elkins will meet UFC newcomer Edson Barboza at UFC 123 in Michigan, MMA Fighting learned Thursday.

Sources close to Elkins’ camp confirmed that though bout agreements between the two fighte…

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Lightweight Darren Elkins will meet UFC newcomer Edson Barboza at UFC 123 in Michigan, MMA Fighting learned Thursday.

Sources close to Elkins’ camp confirmed that though bout agreements between the two fighters have not yet been signed, verbal agreements are in place.

Though not yet made official by the promotion, UFC 123 will take place Nov. 20 at The Palace in the northern Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills.

Dennis Siver vs. Andre Winner Bout Planned for UFC 122

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A lightweight bout between Dennis Siver and Andre Winner is planned for UFC 122 in Germany, sources told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Thursday.

The event will be the UFC’s second in Germany and will be a…

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A lightweight bout between Dennis Siver and Andre Winner is planned for UFC 122 in Germany, sources told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Thursday.

The event will be the UFC’s second in Germany and will be a homecoming for Siver. He also fought on the promotion’s debut in that country, UFC 99 in June 2009, submitting Dale Hartt with a first-round rear naked choke. Siver (16-7, 5-4 UFC) is of German and Russian descent and began his MMA career in Germany.