Yoshihiro Akiyama Training Pics For UFC 116 Co Main Event Fight Against Chris Leben

Props to Sherdog.com for the above training pics, click here to check out more of Yoshihiro Akiyama preparing for his UFC 116 co-main event fight against late replacement Chris ‘The Crippler’ Leben

UFC 116 Pre Fight Interview: Chris Leben Plans On Knocking Out Yoshihiro Akiyama

Wanderlei Silva Prepared For “A Very Interesting Fight” Against Yoshihiro Akiyama At UFC 116

The former Pride Champ and current UFC middleweight fighter Wanderlei ‘The Axe Murderer’ Silva is making his final preparations for his upcoming fight against Yohihiro Akiyama at UFC 116.  He’ll be training under Rafael Cordeiro during these next few weeks as it gets closer to fight night.

Silva talks about his respect for Akiyama’s fighting style because of his willingness to stand and trade.  Both fighters are well known for pressing the action against all of their past opponents.  Expect an action-packed UFC 116 co-main event battle in Las Vegas, scheduled to take place on July 3rd, 2010.

From Wanderlei Silva:

“Professor Rafael Cordeiro will coordinate and give directions to the sparrings to do the way it has to be done (trainings). Akiyama is tough, a good guy who has been an athlete throughout his life. He does well on the ground and is very strong. It’s going to be a very interesting fight, a great one for me because he’s a guy who fights and open the game, not a man who runs. I believe it’ll be a big show. I want to fight for more six years, at least until forty’s. This change of category was good. I had to re-educate myself on food matter and I’m feeling very well.”

Wanderlei Silva Talks About Fighting Yoshihiro Akiyama At UFC 116 In Las Vegas

Wanderlei Silva Signs UFC 116 Contract To Fight Yoshihiro Akiyama On His Birthday (July 3)

Yoshihiro Akiyama Talks About His UFC 100 War Against Alan Belcher

Yoshihiro Akiyama spoke about his UFC 100 war against Alan Belcher and says the only reason he won was because he “REALLY didn’t want to lose the fight.”  According to Sexy-Yama, the hit he received below the waist in the first round truly affected him throughout the rest of the fight.  However,  the Judo expert kept his composure and let the fight go on.  He admits that Belcher was indeed “the toughest fighter” he has ever faced in his mixed martial arts career.

As Akiyama was taken care of at the hospital after the fight, the Japanese superstar was informed by Dana White himself that he and Belcher had won the “Fight of the Night” bonus.  A great debut for the young Akiyama as he acquired his first win in the octagon including an additional $100,000 USD bonus to add to his purse.

Snip from Yoshihiro Akiyama himself:

“Alan (Belcher) was a very tough fighter. The damage of the low blow in the beginning of the fight was quite strong. I thought that if he hit me there again I wouldn’t be able to continue the fight. I wanted to take a large break but there was confusion during the fight. I misunderstood the referee saying five minutes in English as five seconds, I continued the fight urgently but this took a big toll on the exhaustion of my physical strength. My eye got injured when I got downed on the first round by a left. I felt an abnormality in my eye after the end of the 1st round. One eye was closed so I didn’t know about my sense of distance. Because I couldn’t see any attacks from my opponent’s right side I received a lot of leg kicks from that side. I didn’t continue with the game plan, the only reason I won was my feeling that I really didn’t want to lose this fight. After the fight when I was in the hospital, Dana White came personally and told me first hand that me and Belcher’s fight was elected as the fight of the night. I was very happy…. Alan is the toughest fighter I have faced and I’m proud to have been able to fight him. I will devote myself from now on so please support me.”

UFC 100: Yoshihiro Akiyama Talks Fight Debut Against Alan Belcher

UFC Newcomer Yoshihiro Akiyama Featured In KIA Car Commercial

UFC Signs Yoshihiro Akiyama, Joins Middleweight Division

The UFC has recently inked a deal with Japanese MMA star Yoshihiro Akiyama (12-1).  Apparently, he is expected to debut in the octagon some time during the summer of 2009.  There is no word on his first opponent but Dana White sure seems pretty exciting with the recent contract.

Snip from UFC President Dana White

“I’m excited to bring Akiyama into the UFC and I can see him making an immediate impact in the middleweight division…besides his great judo and submission game, he’s a finisher, and UFC fans are going to love watching him because he always shows up to fight.”

Akiyama has proven to be one of the best mixed martial artists, dominating skillful opponents in top organizations including DREAM and K-1.  The Judo specialist plans to add some competition to the UFC 185-pound division.  He’ll be up against a very difficult fighters such as Nate Marquardt, Dan Henderson, Demian Maia, Thales Leites, Patrick Cote and even Anderson Silva who currently holds the UFC middleweight title.  We’ll just see how well he performs with UFC contenders.

Video: Yoshihiro Akiyama Discusses Controversial Fight With Kazuo Misaki

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