UFC 98: Ed Herman replaces injured Yushin Okami against Dan Miller on May 23 (Updated)
by Jesse Holland on Apr 30, 2009 5:38 PM EDT
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***Update: MMAmania.com has exclusively learned that Chael Sonnen, not Ed Herman will replace Yushin Okami. For more information, click here.
With just a little over a month to recover from his April 18 win over David Loiseau at UFC 97, The Ultimate Fighter 3 runner-up Ed Herman will fill in for Yushin Okami at UFC 98 against Dan Miller from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 23.
"Thunder" was forced to withdraw from the event after tearing a ligament in his knee, according to MMAWeekly. Okami joins a long list of fighters who were removed from the UFC 98 lineup due to injury.
Since its inception, the May 23 event has been a revolving door of UFC talent.
Heavyweight stars Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar were originally set to unify the heavyweight title in the main event until Mir opted for surgery on a bothersome knee and forced UFC officials to push their rematch forward to UFC 100.
The Zuffa brass hastily arranged for Quinton Jackson -- fresh off his unanimous decision win over Keith Jardine at UFC 96 -- to challenge light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans as a replacement main event.
"Rampage" felt pressured to fight on such short notice and instead chose to take some much-needed time off to heal an injured jaw and some other nagging injuries before trying his luck against "Sugar."
Enter Lyoto Machida.
With "The Dragon" in place to meet Evans, everything was back on track -- until Josh Koscheck broke his toe and pulled out of his fight against Chris Wilson.
Brock Larson to the rescue.
Earlier today, it was learned that James Irvin blew out his knee and would not be able to throwdown with Drew McFedries in a middleweight scrap. Xavier Foupa-Pokam will assume the position, pending immigration proceedings.
That brings us to Okami. The Japanese import — who holds a controversial win over Anderson Silva under the 'Rumble on the Rock' banner — has won seven of eight fights inside the Octagon. His lone loss during that span was to former champion Rich Franklin back at UFC 72: "Victory" in June 2007.
After defeating Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Dean Lister at UFC 92: "The Ultimate 2008″ in Dec. 2008, Okami re-established himself as a top contender in the middleweight division after missing nearly nine months of action due to a hand injury.
This latest setback could further stymie his chances at getting a rematch with Silva -- who may be toiling in the land of light heavyweights indefinitely.
Bad news for Okami, great news for Herman. After back-to-back losses in 2008, Herman was headed for the chopping block before securing a stay of execution with his win over "The Crow" at UFC 97. A huge win over a tough opponent like Miller, especially on short notice, and he could be right back in the thick of things.
UFC 98 will feature (we hope) the light heavyweight title fight between Rashad Evans and undefeated challenger Lyoto Machida. Also on the May 23 card, former UFC welterweight champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra will finally settle their eternal grudge match.
For the latest UFC 98 fight card and rumors click here.
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herman is a scrapper but i think miller takes this
i have a question for you guys
i was going to bet on okami and irvin winning against miller and drew but now they are both out
should i bet on both there replacements??
i really dont know much about prof x and cant say ive really watched dan miller all that much
by ufcaddict on Apr 30, 2009 6:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
dont know too much about the professor accept from what I hear.
Dan miller is no joke. Herman or him are pretty even if you ask me, so I dont feel comfortable telling you to bet on one over the other especially since Herman is taking this fight on short notice. If I had to make a prediction it would be miller via submission!
by john on Apr 30, 2009 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
the card sucks but the cards that suck end up having the best fights
………………………………………………………………………….
by mikeybear on Apr 30, 2009 7:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I had Miller over Okami and Mcfedries over Irvin but now I got Foupa Pokem over Mcfedries and still got Miller over Herman.
by NM on Apr 30, 2009 7:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
NM,
Really? Why Miller over Okami? Am I the only one who thinks Okami is underrated?
Really would like some input on this one. I’m just having trouble understanding why there are so few people on the Okami bandwagon. Thanks.
by Jeff on Apr 30, 2009 8:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Okami is criminally underrated. His game may not be exciting but hey if it works. For those who don’t give enough cred to his ground work, watch his match against Maia at ADCC 07. He almost got mount on demian.
by NameNotRequired on Apr 30, 2009 11:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
OKami, is NO JOKE and he is probably the most under rated fighter in the UFC….UFC thinks he is boring so they are doing to him what they did to Matt LIndland back in the day…and it sucks. “Exciting” should always take a back seat to “skillfull”, and Okami is a very killed fighter.
I thought Okami was headed in the right path after he knocked out a fan favorite in Evan Tanner on free tv…I thought that was a stepp in the right direction to get Okami some fans and put him in meaningfuyl fights….boy was I wrong, his next fight was burried on the under card against that waste of time, has been, Jermey Horn!!!
Get Okami a good opponent and televise the damn fight!
Okami is ranked in the top 5 of everyone’s MW rankings list, yet people dont even know that he fights in the uFC. TERRIBLE situation…I hope Okami gets cut so he can go back to Japan, and I can see him fight good comp on a consistant basis!
by john on May 1, 2009 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Okami is not Underated,But I had some pretty good cash on Miller being the huge underdog he was IMO.
Personally I think Okami deserves a title shot!
Nice post John!!
by NM on May 1, 2009 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
After this event, Rashad will find out that he isnt much of a draw yet, regardless of what he believes.
NO one will buy this event! Its going to be so funny!
by john on Apr 30, 2009 6:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
They might as well put it on spike because the numbers are going to be embaressing!
by john on Apr 30, 2009 6:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I’m still thinking about buying it for the main event… but even that has the potential to be boring, despite the skill of the participants. Plus UFC 97 still stings a little… we’ll see, if enough buddies throw in I’ll order it.
by Jeremyjackson on Apr 30, 2009 6:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
This is one of those events that looks so bad it will probably be good. I can’t imagine many people buying this though. None of the fights have any impact whatsoever except the Title fight (which is between two of the potentially most boring fighters in the division). This could easily be the worst event of the year. I’ll be catching it at a bar for sure unless one of my friends wants to pony up.
by DDT on Apr 30, 2009 6:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Nice. I wasn’t looking forward to Dan Miller likely getting his first loss in the UFC against Okami. He should take this one though
by EazyEismydad on Apr 30, 2009 5:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
No use in wining like most posters. I was looking forward to the Okami fight, and I agree with EazyEismydad, except the ‘nice’ part. Herman was almost out; will this one do it to him?
by poyb on Apr 30, 2009 5:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
You have to admire Herman’s balls for stepping in on short notice after fighting just recently. Not long ago he was worried about his future in the ufc, with possibly a second win in a row he might be back into the mix. Though I doubt he will ever be able beat the top contenders in his weight class.
by kazai on Apr 30, 2009 5:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Nah, he’ll get another fight, his only loss in the UFC is to Rich Franklin no? Unless I missed a fight somewhere..
by O damn he got caught on Apr 30, 2009 6:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
thats true but he seems to be in title shot talks and I’m sure that drives Dana nuts
by McArthur on Apr 30, 2009 6:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Haha, Dana White: “we’ve got an AWESOME middleweight to replace him”.
Yeah, so awesome he was on the verge of being cut a few weeks ago…
by Jeremyjackson on Apr 30, 2009 6:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Damn! I thought have been my boy Rejic after what Dana said.
by JT on Apr 30, 2009 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I would have gixxed my pants if it were Goran!
Hopefully Goran is added to UFC 101 card!
by john on Apr 30, 2009 7:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I would like to see Goran Reljic vs. Cote!
by john on Apr 30, 2009 7:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Is he still hurt? That dude could take out a lot of top MWs, IMO.
by Jeremyjackson on Apr 30, 2009 7:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I am a HUGE Reljic fan but stating he can take out a lot of Top MW’s is sort of ridiculous with only one fight over the Gassed no heart Willy G.
I would love to see him back in action but this long of a break might be bad we all seen what it did t Mir,Vera etc. Hopfully he fights Mcfedries or some scrappy guy get him Back in there,But John said Cote that made me excited I would love to see that!!Or give him Leites let him show leites what its like to get KTFO’d.
I really Like Maia,Marquardt and Hendo I think they are the only top fighters in MW IMO.
Cannot wait for Hendo to whoop Bisping and Maia to sub Marquardt!!!!!!!!
by NM on Apr 30, 2009 7:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I put down some cash for that fight, John.
by Jeff on Apr 30, 2009 8:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Gouveia is no joke, I thought that was an impressive victory. He looked very good standing up, and I understand he has excellent jits. I think his skill set gives him an opportunity to make a run in a division which isn’t terribly deep, despite Dana White’s protestations to the contrary.
by Jeremyjackson on Apr 30, 2009 8:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Okami is not Underated,But I had some pretty good cash on Miller being the huge underdog he was IMO.
Personally I think Okami deserves a title shot!
by NM on May 1, 2009 12:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Props to Herman for stepping up on short notice. Herman may not be “awesome”, but he is a very solid MW who always comes ready to fight and is generally entertaining to watch. Aside from a tendency to foolishly fall into submissions, Herman has a good chance in this fight.
by CL on Apr 30, 2009 6:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
This card does not suck, go watch Baseball
A little surprised they didnt pick Nathan Quarry.
by torresisawarrior on Apr 30, 2009 6:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
would rather see herman anyways as okami isnt the most exciting fighter anyways
by hhhh on Apr 30, 2009 6:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Seriously, what the FÛCK?! First Irvin and now Okami?
This fücking card sucks fücking cóck!
by lolop4345 on Apr 30, 2009 7:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Just after defending this card I find out that another big name is out, this is probabaly Okami’s last chance at a rematch with Silva gone as he’s had too many injuries and by the time he’s back in title contention Silva will be long gone from the MW division.
However, this fight could end up being more exciting to watch, Herman always puts on a show win or lose and I’m glad he’s getting another chance, though he won’t win this fight Ed’s always submitted by good ground fighters and Miller will be no exception. Great chance for Dan to get another impressive win and make a name for himself against someone the casual fans will recognise from TUF.
Hopefully there will be no more mishaps, as this is turning into another one of the cursed UFC cards, I think it will turn out alright and suprise a few people.
by David W-S on Apr 30, 2009 7:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Herman is back on track after his win at UFC 97 against the crow. Some people might say he layed and prayed his way to victory witch is false. Herman got to the mount once or twice in that fight and was throwing gnp almost non stop. The fight should have been called at least once during the gnp. The crow’s only real flash in the fight was the first 15 seconds then it was all Herman.
by Alan on May 1, 2009 2:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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