Latest YushinOkami Stories
Report: Chael Sonnen Will Not Face Anderson Silva at UFC 112
By Mike ChiappettaPosted: Feb 12th 2010 5:28 PM
The search for an opponent for Anderson Silva continues, as Chael Sonnen is crossed off the list.
Yahoo Sports spoke to the surging middleweight Friday and he told them he would not be offered a chance to replace the injured Vitor Belfort and face Silva at UFC 112.
UFC President Dana White told MMA Fighting early Friday morning that Silva would still fight at the event, scheduled for April 10 in Abu Dhabi, and that he would fight at middleweight, indicating a title defense.
Chael Sonnen Finally Has Our Attention; Now Can He Beat Marquardt?
By Mike ChiappettaPosted: Feb 4th 2010 6:32 PM
Chael Sonnen has spent the last few days making headlines with his mouth, but now that he's got our attention, he'll have the chance to impress us without saying another word. Sonnen gets that chance on Saturday, and it's the opportunity of a lifetime. In Thursday's UFC 109 press conference, UFC President Dana White said that the winner of the fight between Sonnen and opponent Nate Marquardt will get the next crack at the middleweight title.
Some would say that Sonnen (24-10) probably doesn't deserve to be in this position. Though he does have an excellent 9-2 record over his last 11 matches, he's 2-1 in the UFC and was tapped out by Demian Maia in less than three minutes. While his decision wins over Dan Miller and Yushin Okami were solid victories against seasoned veterans, they failed to rally the masses to his side. In fact, his last fight against Okami didn't even make the main card, relegated to undercard status. As he's learned, sometimes, you have to scream for attention.
Mike Swick: One Win Away From GSP
By Ray HuiPosted: Nov 12th 2009 12:10 PM
In his own mind, Mike Swick already believes he's worthy of a shot at arguably the most dominant welterweight in UFC history."I definitely think I offer a challenge to [Georges St- Pierre]," Swick told FanHouse. "He's one of the top fighters. Pound-for-pound he might be the best, but I definitely feel that my style is going to cause some problems for him for sure."
He believes it, but this Saturday at UFC 105, Swick can prove it to the UFC organization and fans around the world if he dismantles British sensation Dan Hardy to be next in line to face St-Pierre sometime next year.
MMA Top 10 Middleweights: Chael Sonnen Rises, Yushin Okami Falls
By Michael David SmithPosted: Oct 26th 2009 2:00 PM
I've been banging the drum for a couple years saying the UFC needs to give Yushin Okami a shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva. You won't be hearing that from me anymore.
After Chael Sonnen thoroughly dominated Okami with a unanimous decision win on Saturday night at UFC 104, Okami took a tumble in my rankings of the top 10 middleweights in mixed martial arts. So how far did Okami fall, and what does the middleweight picture look like now? My rankings are below.
Chael Sonnen Reflects on UFC 104 Victory, Says He Is Ready to Fight Best
By Ariel HelwaniPosted: Oct 25th 2009 2:00 AM
LOS ANGELES -- Chael Sonnen was very vocal prior to his UFC 104 fight against Yushin Okami about being disappointed with his placement on the card, but after his dominating victory on Saturday, Sonnen told FanHouse that he is very much a player in the UFC's middleweight division. Sonnen also talked about who he would like to fight next.Check out the video interview below.
UFC 104 Undercard Live Blog: Okami vs. Sonnen, Rivera vs. Kimmons, More
By Ariel HelwaniPosted: Oct 24th 2009 7:30 PM
LOS ANGELES -- This is the UFC 104 live blog for the four preliminary bouts of the night's event featuring middleweights Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen, Jorge Rivera vs. Rob Kimmons, heavyweights Stefan Struve vs. Chase Gormley and light heavyweights Kyle Kingsbury vs. Razak Al-Hassan. The first bout is scheduled to begin at 7:30PM ET. The live blog begins below.
Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen: The Big UFC 104 Fight You Won't See on TV
By Michael David SmithPosted: Oct 23rd 2009 6:52 AM
Saturday's UFC 104 card features two bouts pitting Top 10 fighters against each other. One of them, of course, is the main event, Lyoto Machida vs. Shogun Rua. The other one won't even be televised.Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen is Saturday night's second-best fight, at least if you judge the quality of the fight based on how highly ranked the competitors are. In Bloody Elbow's consensus rankings, Okami is the fourth-best middleweight in the world and Sonnen is 10th. No other fight on the card even features one Top 10 fighter, let alone two Top 10 fighters against each other.
The MMA Hour: Rogers Talks Fedor; Johnson, Sonnen Discuss UFC 104
By Ariel HelwaniPosted: Oct 21st 2009 9:35 PM
On this week's jam-packed edition of The MMA Hour, we first spoke to heavyweight Brett Rogers about his showdown against Fedor Emelianenko on Nov. 7. Rogers was his usual confident self, predicting what round and time he'll beat the "The Last Emperor."Later in the show, we talked to Anthony Johnson about his UFC 104 fight against Yoshiyuki Yoshida. "Rumble," who weighed 17 pounds over the 171-pound weight limit less than a week before the fight will finally get a chance to shine on pay-per-view this Saturday night. Finally, we were also joined by middleweight Chael Sonnen, who faces Yushin Okami on the UFC 104 undercard. Sonnen called Okami a "nuisance" and said a win over the Japanese fighter should put him right back in the mix for the 185-pound title. Watch or listen to the show below.
One Year Later, Evan Tanner's Life, Legacy Remembered
By Mike ChiappettaPosted: Sep 8th 2009 9:08 AM
The people who knew him still think of him regularly. How can they not? He moved them closer to life's truths than anyone else. He pulled them in, taught them lessons, then disappeared. He made them feel alive. He challenged them to think deeper, look further, rise above. He broke their hearts, then showed them what true redemption was all about.
They remember him because one year later, the life of Evan Tanner still echoes.
Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen Set for UFC 104 in Los Angeles
By Ray HuiPosted: Jul 17th 2009 3:59 PM
UFC middleweight contenders Yushin Okami and Chael Sonnen will meet at UFC 104 on Oct. 24 in Los Angeles, the UFC announced today on the Japanese version of its website. Okami (23-4), who was last seen in the Octagon outpointing Dean Lister at UFC 92 in December, will be competing for his first time in 2009. He was scheduled to fight Dan Miller at UFC 98 in May but was forced out due to a knee injury. Sonnen (23-10-1), incidentally, stepped in for Okami and earned the unanimous nod over Miller.
MMA Top 10 Middleweights: Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago Is Big
By Michael David SmithPosted: Jul 16th 2009 8:18 PM
Most of the best middleweights in mixed martial arts are in the UFC, just as most of the best fighters in every weight class from bantamweight to heavyweight are under contract to Zuffa. But as I post my new list of the Top 10 middleweights in MMA, a list topped by UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva, I want to commend Affliction for putting together the best middleweight fight possible outside the Octagon: Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago.
UFC 100: Bisping vs. Henderson Sold as No. 1 Contender Fight
By Michael David SmithPosted: Jul 8th 2009 9:55 AM
Although the UFC rarely labels any fight as one that guarantees the winner a title shot, all indications are that the winner of the UFC 100 fight between Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson will get the next chance to fight UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.The UFC 100 Countdown show that aired Tuesday night referred to Bisping vs. Henderson as "an international grudge match for a shot at the middleweight belt."
Fight Calendar
| UFC 111 - St. Pierre vs. Hardy | |
| UFC Fight Night - Florian vs. Gomi | |
| UFC 112 - Silva vs. Maia | |
| UFC 113 - Machida vs. Rua | |
| Strikeforce Challengers | |
| Strikeforce: Nashville | |
| WEC 48 - Aldo vs. Faber |
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