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.”
