MMA and UFC News

Yushin Okami Slowly Recovers From Injury, Possible Title Fight Against Anderson Silva In September

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Yushin “Thunder” Okami is recovering from a knee injury he sustained in his training camp back in April as he prepared for his UFC 98 fight against Dan Miller.  He told ufc.com that he is currently training on his upper body, but expects to be back to his regular MMA training sometime in July.

UFC President Dana White labeled Okami as the #1 title contender for the UFC middleweight division, so a possible title match against Anderson “The Spider” Silva could be slated for September of 2009.  Prior to a UFC middleweight title bout, Silva is scheduled to fight Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 as part of the co-main event.  Depending on how Silva feels both physically and mentally after his fight against Griffin, Silva could be back in the octagon to defend his belt against Okami at UFC 103.

Okami had faced Silva at the Rumble on the Rock 8 event back in 2006.  Silva was disqualified for an illegal kick during their bout, which gave Okami the win.  A rematch fight would be interesting to see as both fighters seem to be right in their prime.

Snip from Okami:

“I’d torn my ligament around the end of April. I really wanted to fight (Dan Miller), but the doctor had stopped me. He told me I would recover by June if I sit still. Currently I’m focused on upper-body training, and by July I will be back to my usual regimen. I want to get back into the Octagon, if possible, to fight in September. I believe [Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin] will be a good fight. (Silva) does best at 185 but I don’t think it’s a wrong decision to fight in 205. [Regarding Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites] I felt that Anderson Silva was quite comfortable throughout the fight. I also felt that Thales Leites fell into Anderson Silva’s plan and wasn’t able to perform to his potential.  [Regarding the first Silva vs. Okami.” fight] The records say I won but I really lost the match (against Silva). But I believe because of this fight I’ve grown stronger. The next time I fight him things will be different. I am confident of that.”

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