Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) signs middleweight superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama

by Jesse Holland on Feb 24, 2009 7:19 PM EST

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has confirmed today that middleweight superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama has signed an exclusive contract with the promotion and will debut inside the Octagon at some point this summer.

A fourth-generation Japanese-born Korean, Akiyama (12-1) has long been one of Japan's biggest heels. Akiyama went Exxon Valdez on Japanese hero Kazushi Sakuraba at K-1 Premium Dynamite!! in 2006. His TKO victory over the legend was changed to a No Contest after some questions were raised about his pre-fight ritual of getting freaky with a jar of Olay and a Japanese "grease-gate" was born.

After cleaning the clock of now-UFC middleweight Denis Kang at Hero's 2007, Akiyama made waves at Yarennoka 2007 when Kazuo Misaki turned his face inside-out with a brutal soccer kick.

While originally ruled a knockout, an Akiyama complaint forced officials to review the tape and reverse the match to a No Contest as it was decided prior to the event that kicks to a downed opponent would be considered a foul.

Fans were not pleased.

Still, Akiyama is a talented fighter capable of winning anywhere at anytime -- none of his twelve wins have gone the distance. In addition, he can finish in style with either a spinning back kick (Nagata) or an Ezekiel choke (Shibata, Ishizawa).

It was enough to convince UFC President Dana White that he's got the goods:

"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."

The decorated judoka has now given the land of the rising sun yet one more reason to loathe him by signing with Zuffa, especially those still bitter by the dissolution of PRIDE.

Unfortunately one man's loss is another man's gain, and this is one MMA fan that is looking forward to yet another stellar addition to the UFC middleweight division.

See you this summer.

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Comments

A new talented addition is always good news!

by matthew on Feb 24, 2009 7:21 PM EST reply actions

Its official. The MW dvision gets deeper still.

by Ca$z on Feb 24, 2009 7:25 PM EST up reply actions

yeah middleweight is getting better and better… now all we need is some good heavyweights!!

by brendan on Feb 24, 2009 7:27 PM EST up reply actions

I wanna see him fight Belcher or someone on that level before facing real guys. I imagine the jump from your kasuyori’s to non-can competition might take time.

by NameNotRequired on Feb 24, 2009 7:28 PM EST up reply actions

THe UFC just got a little sexier with the Addition of Sexyama!

This guy is an Instant threat to Anderson’s title!

I agree with NNR: Start him off with Belcher…then let him beat on the loser of bisping/hendo and then lett he man fight for the title. He is a lgeit top 10 middleweight. Im not talking about top 10 UFC mW, I am talking about top 10 mw worldwide.

THe best part about this signing is that it will help in the UFC’s attempt to invade Japan. With the roster that the UFC has, they can easily make a great card with tons of stars that Japanese fans know of. Also, if the UFC is able to succesfully start having a couple events a year, it will make the UFC a much more attractive destination for Fedor to sign once his last fight with Affliction (Barnett is fullfilled). A main reason Fedor felt he couldnt sign a UFC contract was because it would prevent him from fighting in Japan, which would alienate the zillions of Japanese fans he has cultivated over the years. If the UFC can provide Fedor a chance to fight in Japan, once or twice a year….it would help in signing the Russian to an exclusive UFC contract, especially if Dana makes an exception and allows Fedor to fullfill his National comitments to Russia by competing in the Sambo Championships. I mean seriously, he won his 5th title in Sambo the other day, and he won all 3 fights in under a minute combined! Let the man compete in Sambo, give him the opportunity to fight in Japan, and you will get Fedor to sign on the dotted line.

by john on Feb 24, 2009 7:46 PM EST up reply actions

If UFC can put together a card like the one I am about to propose…they would have NO Problem filling up the Saitama Super arena in Japan which would set the biggest UFC attendance record of all time!

This would be the kind of 1st card that the UFC would have to provide in Japan, to instantly become a fan favorite in Japan.

Ufc Ultimate Japan 3 (example card) filled with fighters that have made a name for themselves in Japan:

Rampage vs. Shogun 2
Wanderlei vs. Henderson 3
Caol Uno vs. TBA
Kid yammamotto vs. Jens Pulver (who fought a few fights in Pride)
Iishi vs. a bum that Iishi can defeat
Cro cop vs. whoever

weather or not the Japanese people hate the UFC for disolving Pride, this is a fight card that even they could not resist!

Add Fedor to the card and the Saitame arena would be filled with over 40,000 fans!

by john on Feb 24, 2009 7:51 PM EST up reply actions

I believe Akiyama is 12-0…Never going to a decision. 7 wins by submission, 5 ko’s.

He has beaten top names like Denis Kang and Melvin Manhoef, and his only loss came to K-1 star HW Jerome LeBanner in Akiyama’s second pro bout (k-1 fight).

by john on Feb 24, 2009 8:05 PM EST up reply actions

I have seen him knock people out with spinning back kicks, and submit guys with ezekial choke! Very well rounded fighter and he is tough as nails!

Akiyama vs:

Wanderlei
Henderson
Bisping
Marquardt
Okami
Maia
would all be amazing fights.

I would love to see how akiyama’s word class Judo submission skills match up with Maia’s top shelf bjj skills!

by john on Feb 24, 2009 8:07 PM EST up reply actions

also if the UFC is able to guarantee a japanese card once or twice a year, it would have a better chance of landing fighters who made a name for themselves in Japan, like:
Aoki the great
Manhoef (who wants to fight wanderlei but doesnt want to leave Japan)
Fedor
barnett
Hellboy
JZ

and a ton of other top fighters who wouldnt sign with the UFC because they wanted to fight in Japan!

by john on Feb 24, 2009 8:13 PM EST up reply actions

Hellboy has explicitly said he will never fight for the UFC. The thing about Japan is they pay these guys boatloads of money so it would be hard for them to leave especially when they can also fight in places like K-1. The UFC would have to be willing to throw around some big money and try to get the major stars before getting your Manhoefs.

One crazy thought i had though is the possibility of WEC in japan. Because eventually places GMC, shooto, DEEP will be the primary feeder shows to the promotion’s lighter weight divisions. Most of the great prospects there see the WEC as the premier league as it is right now.

by NameNotRequired on Feb 24, 2009 8:58 PM EST up reply actions

GOD damn, john, you wrote wayy too much lol.

by SoCalStunNa on Feb 24, 2009 10:09 PM EST up reply actions

Dang John! Can you leave a brotha some Akiyama trivia to comment on too? I was all excited when I saw the thread and thought I’d drop some facts and help fmiliarize the average UFC fan to who this guy is and BAM…….you already posted virtually every detail! Seriously though, good info.

FYI, this guy is FOR REAL. He’s still growing as a fighter so what we see from his debut will only get better. Remember what his stand-up looked like against Manhoef? Now compare that to what we saw against Kang. He improved greatly in a short period of time. I’m anxious to see how much he’s improved since then because the Kang fight was the last one of his I’ve seen. Akiyama should be a huge impact on the 185 division……HUGE!

by Machine on Feb 25, 2009 9:26 AM EST up reply actions

Machine: THanks man, and sorry to hog up all the limelight on this thread…Its just that I have been wanting the UFC to sign Akiyama for so long now! Once I saw the thread, I just went Bananas! Sexyama, iMO, spearheads straight towards the top of the list of MIdleweights with the best chance of beating Anderson!

NNR: WEC in Japan is onje of the best idea’s I have heard on this site in a long time. Like you said, most of the smaller weight class fighters in the WEC come from Japan anyway! Great idea man!

by john on Feb 25, 2009 9:46 AM EST up reply actions

John:

Somebodies gotta be willing to stand in the limelight, right? Besides, I’m glad you did it because it means less typing for me.

NNR:

I’m gonna jump on the bandwagon for the WEC idea as well. The smaller weight classes are chock-full of top tier Japanese fighters with plenty more moving up the ranks. Great suggestion!

by Machine on Feb 25, 2009 11:08 AM EST up reply actions

especially the middleweight div.

by matthew on Feb 24, 2009 7:24 PM EST reply actions

WAR SEXYAMA!

by dn99 on Feb 24, 2009 7:25 PM EST reply actions

think the ufc will let him wear his gi? lol

by brendan on Feb 24, 2009 7:39 PM EST up reply actions

WOW was not expecting this today it was a slow news day untill this LOL

by Shadow side on Feb 24, 2009 7:28 PM EST reply actions

Hey off topic but thompson vs melendez 2 on for april 11 strikeforce

by The Philicutioner on Feb 24, 2009 7:31 PM EST reply actions

yeah, its all but signed!

by john on Feb 24, 2009 7:51 PM EST up reply actions

great addition does he merit a top 10 ranking in the ufc already??

by bryant on Feb 24, 2009 7:33 PM EST reply actions

hell yeah he does…he is a top 10 worldwide middleweight fighter so of course he is a top 10 UFC middleweight!

by john on Feb 24, 2009 7:46 PM EST up reply actions

He’s not a Korean-born Japanese..it’s the opposite. He’s a 3rd generation Korean born in Japan.

by Lights Out on Feb 24, 2009 7:33 PM EST reply actions

Thats what he said… “Japanese-born Korean”

by ---Caesar--- on Feb 24, 2009 7:58 PM EST up reply actions

he made a correction.

by Lights Out on Feb 25, 2009 5:52 PM EST up reply actions

Let me see… Does he really deserve is hype… Like Dennis Kang does… hummm I Want to see him fight first and after believe the hype

by doumbret on Feb 24, 2009 7:50 PM EST reply actions

How about you go watch some of his fights like the fight where he ko’d dennis kang… he is more than hype…

by mike22 on Feb 24, 2009 7:53 PM EST up reply actions

exactly! He is the real deal! He is as tough and skilled as they come!

by john on Feb 24, 2009 7:55 PM EST up reply actions

Whoa! Did Chuck Liddell deserve the hype he had after getting KO’d by Rampage? Losing a fight doesn’t erase what a fighter’s accomplished up until that point. Heck, even losing 2 in a row doesn’t diminish their accolades. Kang deserves any hype he gets because he’s EARNED IT. As has Akiyama. Judging a fighter solely on the 1st and only fight you’ve ever seen them in when there are 10-30 other fights to also be considered is like reading the 1st page of a novel and pretending to understand the entire book.

“If you don’t have any losses you’re not fighting the right people”.

by Machine on Feb 25, 2009 9:33 AM EST up reply actions

great Post Machine! I hate how people write fighters off because they lose a fight or 2. Like you so eloquently put: "If you don’t have any losses you’re not fighting the right people"…couldnt be more accurate!

The thing with Kang is that he is easily one of the most talented middleweights on EARTH. He has the skills to beat MOst middleweights. Problem with Kang is that he has mental breakdowns and makes silly mistakes. YOu dont really see Kang get dominated to often. Most of his losses come in fights that he has under control, then he makes a stupid mistakes and falls into triangles and stuff like that.

Kang will get his Sh*t together!

by john on Feb 25, 2009 9:49 AM EST up reply actions

F*CK YEEEEEEAH!

by GSPRush on Feb 24, 2009 7:53 PM EST reply actions

Akiyama has a fantastic chance to beat anderson silva. He is well versed in submissions, has impressive and devastating strikes and is a world renown judo player. I’m calling it now, Akiyama will take out Anderson silva during 2009 or 2010.

by ScissorSweep on Feb 24, 2009 7:56 PM EST reply actions

I give him a better chance than any other UFC MW at the present moment!

by john on Feb 24, 2009 8:02 PM EST up reply actions

ive never seen him fight before only heard of em. so, is this another japanese import that needs to immediatly drop to 170 or what?

by COR on Feb 24, 2009 8:00 PM EST reply actions

Uh, no. Anytime he got dominated by Jerome Le Banner and Melvin Manhoef in the standup, so what will Silva do?
First round decapitation.

by scissorfight on Feb 24, 2009 8:07 PM EST reply actions

manhoef and LeBanner are probably better strikers than Anderson!

by john on Feb 24, 2009 8:14 PM EST up reply actions

naah I wouldn’t call Melvin a better striker than Anderson especially not technically, but he’s definitely a more powerful and explosive striker..

by RoB on Feb 24, 2009 8:38 PM EST up reply actions

jerome lebanner would probably murder silva in a K1 match

by brendan on Feb 24, 2009 11:57 PM EST up reply actions

PROBABLY!!!!

by john on Feb 25, 2009 10:25 AM EST up reply actions

Lebanner is a HUGE heavyweight anyway. They’d never fight. He is definitely one of the best kickboxers of all time, though.

by scissorsweep on Feb 25, 2009 11:51 PM EST up reply actions

Hold your horses! Jerome Le banner is a 264 pound Heavyweight PROFESSIONAL KICK BOXER. Of course he’s going to edge out Akiyama and many other fighters in the stand-up game. To use him as any sort of comparison to how well Akiyama will do at 185 is way out of order.

And Manhoef’s explosiveness, speed and power are virtually unmatched in a this sport. It’s his lack of technique, proper game planning and poor ground skills that keep him out of contention.

by Machine on Feb 25, 2009 9:39 AM EST up reply actions

Good fighter though.

by scissorfight on Feb 24, 2009 8:08 PM EST reply actions

Sexyama comes to the UFC? Wasn’t he offered Mousasi at NYE and ducked him?

Manhoef dominated him standing up, but Akiyama had way better grappling and his submission of Manhoef was beautiful. I guess he won’t be wearing his gi the octagon.

by Belisarius on Feb 24, 2009 8:18 PM EST reply actions

guys quit using the excuse manhoef dominated in the standup. NO SHIT, he’s a k-1 fighter and sexyama is an mma fighter. he should beat him in the stand up

by Jared on Feb 24, 2009 8:57 PM EST up reply actions

I was thinking this too. He did an impression of KJ Noons.

by Bill Maher on Feb 24, 2009 9:47 PM EST up reply actions

To answer your question: Yes, he ducked Mousasi. UFC..SIGN MOUSASI!!!

by Big E on Feb 24, 2009 10:56 PM EST up reply actions

I’m really looking forward to seeing Akiyama in the UFC. He will do very well i believe.

by Chris on Feb 24, 2009 9:48 PM EST reply actions

i hope he does well… i’d like to see these japanese/asian guys start getting some steam rolling so that more will be wanting to come fight here… set up some great match ups… aoki v penn? eh?

by sanshouer on Feb 24, 2009 9:57 PM EST reply actions

maybe if Aoki didn’t say he would never fight in the UFC lol.

by Bill Maher on Feb 24, 2009 10:06 PM EST up reply actions

The UFC should rock the Japanese market with an initial impressive card that would have the Japanese forgetting about PRIDE and diving into the UFC.

Potential Card:

Shogun vs QJax II
Wandy vs Kang
Aoki vs BJ
A. Silva vs Henderson II
Cro-Cop vs a bum he can beat
Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin (the Japs love Giant dudes fighting)
Akihiro Gono vs Chris Lytle

Bet you could get 50,000 for that….

by SoCalStunNa on Feb 24, 2009 10:16 PM EST reply actions

you obviously have no clue how the Japanese function. They are never going to be into the UFC, similiar to how the Xbox 360 has the most popular japanese game designers (Tomonobu Itagaki and Hironobu Sakaguchi) and no one in Japan will buy it regardless. They simply do not care. Also, the biggest match in recent Japanese history was when Bob Sapp fought retired sumo Akebono in K-1, it had nothing to do with wandy, mirko, fedor, gomi etc etc… They like freakshows and dramatic intros and the UFC does neither.

by Bill Maher on Feb 24, 2009 10:53 PM EST up reply actions

“nothing to do with Wandy, mirko, fedor, gomi”

those were some of the MAIN guys in PRDIE (Japan’s beloved MMA org before it was dissolved.

You throw names like Fedor, Wandy, Jackson, Shogun, Gomi etc. etc. onto a card and i’d guraentee you’d have good results!

by SoCalStunNa on Feb 24, 2009 11:23 PM EST up reply actions

HERO’s and K-1 was way more popular than pride lol.

by Bill Maher on Feb 25, 2009 8:46 AM EST up reply actions

I’m with SoCalStunNa on this one. Yes, freakshows played a big role during the PRIDE days but Wand, Sakuraba, Fedor, Gomi, Nog, CroCop were the backbone of the organization. Along with any other national combat sports hero’s like Judoka’s and wrestlers.