How far is Yushin Okami away from a title shot?
At long last, mixed martial arts star Yushin Okami may finally be on his way to a title shot.
Okami, 29, has long been one of the biggest names in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 185lb middleweight division. Since joining the promotion in 2006, he’s fought 11 times and racked up nine wins and two losses, a very impressive record and arguably the best in the division outside of current champion Anderson Silva and former champion Rich Franklin within the same time span.
He’s defeated high-profile names such as Evan Tanner, Alan Belcher, Mike Swick and Jason Macdonald and most recently Mark Munoz. But Okami’s never managed to get a title shot. The closest he came was in a number one contender’s match at UFC 72 against Franklin. After losing the first two rounds, Okami took Franklin down in the third and came within an inch of submitting him with a kimura lock before Franklin escaped. Okami lost by decision.
After racking up several more wins, he was then derailed at UFC 104 by current top contender Chael Sonnen, who dominated him over the course of three rounds.
The problem- Okami’s “boring” fighting style
One of Okami’s handicaps in seeking a title shot was that he was always seen as having a boring fighting style, which relied on out-muscling and grappling opponents to control them for decision victories, rather than knocking them out or going for submissions. His reputation was so bad that at UFC 104, despite being the then-fourth ranked fighter in the 185lb division, his fight didn’t even make the main card and wasn’t broadcast live.
Things got even worse, as his next fight against Lucio Linhares wasn’t even scheduled on the main card of a free TV broadcast, which usually feature lower-quality fights. The prospect of Okami ever getting a title shot when the UFC was unwilling to give him any exposure seemed bleak indeed.
The solution- striking
But in that fight against Linhares, Okami turned his own fortunes around. Rather than rely on wrestling, judo or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, rather than being content to win a decision victory, Okami put on a fantastic display of boxing, showing impeccable technique, power and aggression to crush Linhares in under two rounds.
He found himself back on the main card of a UFC event on Sunday, where he faced wrestling standout Munoz. Before the event UFC president Dana White even said on live TV that Okami looked “due for a title shot.”
It wasn’t as spectacular as his fight against Linhares, but Okami once again came out the aggressor and used his hands and crisp boxing to win a decision against Munoz.
What’s next for Okami?
This Saturday will see Silva and Sonnen face off against each other at UFC 117 to determine who the middleweight champion is. Depending on who wins, this fight may go far towards determining whether Okami will get a title shot.
If Sonnen wins, which most bookmakers deem decidedly unlikely, it may be tough for Okami because he was recently dominated thoroughly by Sonnen. Also, because Sonnen would be a new champ, there are more interesting possibilities, including an immediate rematch with Silva.
If Silva retains his belt though, that’s nothing but good news for Okami. Not only is Okami one of the few top 185 lb fighters in the UFC that Silva hasn’t defeated, but Okami is actually the last opponent to hold a victory over him, when Silva was disqualified in a 2006 bout for knocking Okami out with an illegal strike.
If Silva wins, expect Okami to either be given a title shot right away, or have just one more fight away. If Sonnen wins, it’ll likely be two more fights for Okami before he can get his shot.
Either way, upcoming opponents for Okami that make sense are a rematch with a much-improved Belcher, or should Nate “The Great” Marquardt win his fight on 15 September, or grappling phenom Demian Maia win on 28 August, either one of them would make a fine opponent for Okami to finally have a chance at getting his long-awaited shot at the gold.
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