One of the biggest points of contention in the upcoming rematch between Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami at UFC 134 on Aug. 27 in Brazil is the nature of their first fight.
The story goes as follows: Silva was getting the better of Okami in the early going, aggressively attacking with strikes and generally overwhelming his opponent with a pressure based assault.
Once the Japanese judo player managed to get the Brazilian to the floor, he worked from top in "The Spider's" full guard, not exactly the best place to be.
Shortly after, Anderson unleashed a crushing upkick that sent Yushin falling back to the mat wondering what the hell just happened. Unfortunately, the kick, although highly effective, was illegal.
But what happened next is truly the source of controversy. Okami was apparently given the chance to continue fighting or accept a disqualification victory if he could not continue.
He chose the latter.
This was much to the chagrin of Silva, who found no honor in such a thing and has repeatedly stated that he doesn't feel as though he lost the fight because, "I'm not the one who was knocked out." Touche, champ.
Tatame.com caught up with Okami to get his thoughts on the fight and see how he feels about it today. The quote, along with video of the incident, is after the jump.
"I won by DQ, but I felt I lost that fight. ... There was a damage. There is no point to talk about past things so I don't really care of what people say about last fight. However, that experience made me stronger and as a result I was able to fight in UFC afterwards so I really thank and respect Silva. The word that he says to that I was dressed in damage last is past. I am not dressed. This time I will fight with respect and it will be a chance to show who's the best."
Here's the video of the fight and the immediate aftermath. The bout starts at the 2:40 mark with the illegal upkick landing at the 5:09 mark. Judge for yourselves, Maniacs.
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