With the UFC returning to Japan for the first time in a decade for this Saturday's UFC 144 in the storied Saitama Super Arena, the UFC has done its best to stack the card with Japanese fighters from their roster.

That roster includes fighters who rose to prominence in Japan after the boom like Hatsu Hioki, fighters who toiled in the smaller Japanese promotions like Riki Fukuda and Takeya Mizugaki, Yushin Okami, a fighter who has fought in the UFC for almost his whole career and even fighters who were big stars during Japan's MMA boom such as Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto and Takanori Gomi.

But no Japanese fighter on the UFC 144 card is a bigger star in his homeland* than Yoshihiro Akiyama. Frustratingly for Akiyama and the UFC, his 1-3 run with the promotion keeps him out of the headliner or co-main event slots.

But the 36-year-old has finally decided to cut weight and fight against men his own size in the welterweight division. Former Strikeforce champ and UFC #1 contender Jake Shields will be his test case.

He talked to UFC.com about the decision:

"I am not tall and big enough among other UFC fighters and decided to change to my "original" division," said the 5-foot-11 Akiyama through translator Takashi Iizuka. It was at 81 kilograms (178 pounds) that Akiyama won numerous judo titles, and while he will retain the technical knowledge and gritty competitiveness that has marked his seven year MMA career, he'll also be competing on a level physical playing field, and he believes that "I think that I could acquire more speed."

It will be very interesting to see if Akiyama can get a win over the tough Jake Shields and if the fight will make any waves in Japan. The UFC did manage to buy some TV time on TV Tokyo, the smallest broadcaster in Japan. Unfortunately the fights will air at midnight Tokyo time, hours after the fights are over but it's a start.

Based on reports from Fight Opinion, it looks as if the UFC's deal with the Dentsu advertising agency and sponsor Don Quixote to book the event as a "sold show" was a very smart play. UFC 144 is a low-risk proposition for Zuffa and just might represent a first step in rebuilding the MMA market in Japan.

*Akiyama is a native of Japan but of Korean descent.

Photo via Getty Images.

SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson

In a match-up that's probably not going to showcase any displays of grappling wizardry, welterweight sluggers, Dan Hardy and Duane Ludwig, have agreed to face off in Las Vegas on May 26th at UFC 146, according to MMA Weekly, who confirmed the booking with UFC officials:

Dan Hardy will return to action at UFC 146 in May where he will face fellow striker Duane "Bang" Ludwig.
UFC officials confirmed verbal agreements are in place for the welterweight showdown.

This might be Hardy's last chance to keep his spot on the UFC roster, although it has appeared that he's been in that position in the past, only to keep his job after putting on exciting fights, even during his current four-fight losing streak, which is usually more than enough to get a fighter booted from the promotion. Hardy has revamped his training though, electing to leave his native England to prepare full-time in Las Vegas and taking an extended layoff after his loss to Chris Lytle last August to get fully focused before this next fight. Ludwig, a longtime veteran of the sport, seemed to be enjoying a career resurgence with back-to-back wins over young prospects, Nick Osipczak and Amir Sadollah, but like Hardy against Lytle, his weakness on the ground caught up to him against fellow journeyman, Josh Neer, and Ludwig ended up getting choked out back in January.

Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy (23-10)
L Chris Lytle (submission) - UFC on Versus 5
L Anthony Johnson (unam. decision) - UFN 23
L Carlos Condit (KO) - UFC 120

Duane "Bang" Ludwig (21-12)
L Josh Neer (technical submission) - UFC on FX 1
W Amir Sadollah (unam. decision) - UFC on Versus 5
W Nick Osipczak (split decision) - UFC 122

The UFC 146 card now includes:

-Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem - UFC heavyweight championship
-Evan Dunham vs. Edson Barboza
-Jason Miller vs. C.B. Dollaway
-Jacob Volkmann vs. Paul Sass
-Dan Hardy vs. Duane Ludwig

UFC 146 coverage

Following his decision loss to Carlos Condit at UFC 143, Nick Diaz' drug screening came back positive for marijuana metabolites. This is the second time that Diaz has tested positive for marijuana in Nevade with the first time following his fight against Takanori Gomi at Pride 33 in 2007. He was suspended for six months and fined twenty percent of his fight purse. The win was also overturned to a no contest.

A temporary suspension of his fight license has been handed down to Diaz on the Wednesday meeting following his UFC 143 positive test. The request was made by Christopher Eccles, the Nevada deputy Attorney General and the commission unanimously agreed on the motion. A follow up disciplinary meeting will be scheduled where Nick Diaz will be able to defend his usage of marijuana. Nick Diaz was not on the call Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday's pre-hearing was overseen by commission chairman Skip Avansino, who requested that documentation from the 2007 hearing be made available as well as any disciplinary actions handed down from other commissions. Diaz had prior issues with the California State Athletic Commission while in Strikeforce.

Diaz' case is unique as marijuana is prescribed by a doctor to help him with his ADHD in the state of California. He will likely request exemption for medicinal marijuana usage. This is without precedent as there has never been another case of a fighter asking for marijuana exemption. There is also a possibility that Diaz would request a retroactive exemption which could possibly change the No Contest back to a win.

Diaz could face up to a year suspension as well as a financial fine. The commission requested his financial earning from UFC 143 which would put not just his purse but any bonuses received at risk. His base salary was $200,000 though it is very likely that he also received undisclosed "locker room" and PPV based bonuses as well.

SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

I recorded a segment for Press Row with Jordan Breen over at Sherdog last night and during the discussion of all things UFC 144 and Japanese MMA, Breen posed the question of what fighters on the undercard would be likely to get a shot at a title in 2012. In my initial response I glossed over the winner of the lightweight bout between Joe Lauzon and Anthony Pettis.

My thinking was that the UFC's method of setting up title shots and handling the Fox shows had been very clear, they have two guys fight in a main event with a clear "next fight" with the current champion. In my mind that meant that the winner of the Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller fight would be set to face the winner of the UFC 144 main event between Ben Henderson and Frankie Edgar. But as we talked and Breen argued that the Pettis/Lauzon winner should get a shot, I was a bit swayed, and after sleeping on the idea? I think I'm convinced it is a great idea.

First, some of the segment from Press Row:

Breen: Walk with me for a second, Brent. Tell me when I'm spitting garbage, okay? Because of the fact that they're on the same card and therefore it makes for great timing, it makes the most sense for the UFC...so desperate for anything resembling main events and bankable stars and so forth, that the winner of Frank Edgar/Ben Henderson, if it does end up being Anthony Pettis taking out Joe Lauzon. Do that in late June, early July assuming everybody's totally healthy. Get these guys fighting. What's one of the beefs of champions in the lower weight classes (135, 145, 155)? They're making more money now but they don't make as much money as other dudes. Most of these guys are physically healthy enough to stay that active. Jose Aldo? Maybe not. Dominick Cruz's hands? We'll see. But Frank Edgar seems to be a guy who has the physical ability to fight every 4-5 months. Isn't the real step to fast track the UFC division, even if you were to grant the winner of Miller/Diaz a title shot, you could have the next title fight happening two months after that particular fight so they're waiting six months total for the next fight.

I think you have a real chance with so many cards and deeply wanting to avoid the risk of headlining cards with things like Rashad Evans against Thiago Silva again. How CAN'T you be really, really all in with trying to fasttrack as many light weight guys to fight 3, 4, 5 times a year?

Brookhouse: I think they SHOULD be doing that, but I just look at the way they've been operating and the way they like to do these Fox shows and they like to have the contender status up and have it be very clear who they're going to be fighting. And it's just...if it follows that exact path, then it goes to Miller/Diaz, whoever wins that. But in terms of what makes the most sense, I feel like Edgar gets just straight forgotten by a lot of people. Which is just horrible since he's just one of the best guys to watch in the sport.

(We then go into a whole thing about Edgar's relative place in lightweight history and his chances to be the best 155'er in MMA history by the end of 2012. But circled back to the need to keep Edgar active to build his profile.)

Brookhouse: ...it's this kind of weird situation with Edgar where everyone is waiting for that "yeah, he's really good but..." and waiting for him to screw up in some way and lose. ...I don't know if that's vulnerability shown in the first Penn fight where a lot of people felt he lost and then Maynard fights where he was clearly hurt so he's not exactly St. Pierre and Silva and even Aldo in the level of consistent dominance. He's just exciting and wins. It's a situation where I would almost hope if Pettis wins...If Pettis AND Edgar win I should say...that they would go ahead and do Pettis vs. Edgar and then do the winner of that against the Miller/Diaz winner and keep Edgar in everyone's face and try and build him into what I think he actually is. But get him that kind of recognition from everybody.

I mean, we're constantly engaged with our readers at Bloody Elbow and it seems like EVERYBODY on the UFC roster comes up more often than Frankie Edgar, which is just bizarre to me.

Breen: Well, dude! The fact that Clay Guida is ten times more popular than Frank Edgar is...not that there's anything wrong with Clay Guida and you can see how his personality resounds with people...but the general overlooking of Frank Edgar is something incredible.

More thoughts after the jump..

SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson

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PRIDE and UFC star, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, or 'Big Nog' has a conspiracy theory. He thinks there's a rivalry between American's and Brazilian's, and he implies that MMA Judges in the US are biased against the Brazilians.

He said as much when he talked to Globo TV. Here's a translation from Bloody Elbow's own Orcus:

"Americans have a rivalry with Brazilians, that is obvious. And why is that? It’s because the UFC has three hundred fighters under contract, and from those three hundred fighters we are fifty. The Brazilians are fifty, and we have more belts than they do."

"So from three hundred we are fifty, and with those fifty we get there and take care of business. They win (more) because they have more (people), they have a bigger infrastructure inside their gyms, they have support for the sport since they’re kids. But the sport is growing in Brazil and I believe that..."

"They look at us with (malicious) eyes, let’s say it like that. If you’re going to fight an American in the US you have to win the fight with emphasis because otherwise… You can’t win it by a thin margin."

Off the top of my head, the only controversial decision involving a Brazilian fighter losing to an American fighter recently, would be Lyoto Machida losing that razor thin decision against Quinton Jackson. For the record, I do disagree with that decision, but even then, it was a really close fight, and it wasn't really a robbery.

We do see a few crazy scorecards every now and then, but I don't think we can really blame that on nationalism, racism, or whatever, rather than them simply being bad at judging fights.

Nog's brother, Rogerio was even awarded one of those controversial decisions. I wonder if Jason Brilz has his own conspiracy theory on this.

In the penultimate UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson match slated for the four-fight preliminary card, which kicks off at 8:30 p.m. ET on the FX channel, Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto faces Vaughan Lee in a bantamweight bout.

How the mighty have fallen. At the turn of the millennium, when the acronym No Holds Barred (NHB) was giving way to MMA and Pride FC and the UFC were like warring mafia dons, there was a sharp contrast between American fights and those overseas. The Pride shows took place in a pristine white ring and were steeped in tradition, with a heavy emphasis on honor and "budo", and the way one "could hear a pin drop" was an oft-observed distinction of the respectfully silent audience. Here in the states, there was a greater focus on wrestling and the fighters snarled their way toward the ominous black cage amidst the raucous thumping of heavy metal while the "Just Bleed Guy" flexed in the background.

Kid Yamamoto (18-5) was Japanese MMA's first bad boy because he embodied the primal virility that was associated more with America's culture. Sporting a mohawk, sprinkled with tattoos and beaming a devilishly confident sneer, Kid was the incarnation of pure violence by any standards of combat. Yamamoto was unique in that he was a dominant wrestler, but even more so because he plied that ability as a means to savagely maul his opponents on the feet. Before his hiatus to pursue Olympic wrestling, Kid had firmly cemented a reputation as a cold-blooded killer and was a staple on the list of top pound-for-pound candidates. He'd lost one match due to a cut-stoppage and had one No Contest for a low blow against Josh Thomson, and the rest were highlight-reel-worthy beatdowns of epic proportions.

More UFC 144 Dissections

Fukuda vs. Cantwell | Mizugaki vs. Cariaso | Zhang vs. Tamura

His exorbitant knockout power was dealt in fan-friendly fashion that ranged from flying knees and soccer kicks to vicious boxing and ground-and-pound, resulting in fourteen stoppages (12 by TKO, 2 by sub) and three decisions in his first nineteen outings. He tore through the Shooto promotion and then graduated to K-1 Hero's, where he amplified his expanding body count with reputable names like Royler Gracie, Caol Uno, Genki Sudo, Kazuyuki Miyata (record four-second KO) and Rani Yahya, all of whom were ruthlessly throttled by Kid's kickboxing.

Yamamoto's killer instinct was unparalleled, he was a complete fighter and a bantamweight wreaking havoc against lightweights, so it was widely assumed that he'd thrive in the stateside environment. When Kid announced in 2007 that he was putting his MMA career on hold to follow in his father's footsteps and pursue Olympic wrestling, unbeknownst to him, the decision would trigger an unfortunate series of events. He dislocated his elbow in his second wrestling match at the Emperor's Cup, his Olympic dreams were dashed and he begrudgingly returned to MMA. Yamamoto dropped four of his next five, all by decision -- two in DREAM and two in the UFC -- with one measly win over Federico Lopez.

Gifs and analysis in the full entry.

SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson

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A middleweight match up between Riki Fukuda and Steve Cantwell will grace the FX channel's four-piece preliminary card lineup for UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson. The FX broadcast begins Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. ET before the event's loaded seven-fight offering on the main card, which features lightweight champion Frankie Edgar defending the title against Ben Henderson.

Riki Fukuda (17-5) made his Octagon debut one year ago as the reigning DEEP middleweight champion and a fairly hyped overseas prospect, meeting Nick Ring in what turned out to be one of the most controversial decisions of 2011. Ring got the unanimous nod but nearly every media source had Fukuda penciled in as the winner. Fukuda established his vaunted wrestling prowess throughout the fight but had trouble keeping the slippery former TUFer on the mat and neither painted a demonstrative case in the stand up exchanges.

The unparalleled fervency of high-level wrestling in North American MMA is typically expected to be a shock to the system for a heralded import, yet Fukuda is an exception. His wrestling is not only adequate, but an outright specialty. Fukuda holds a pile of reputable finishes on the All-Japan College wrestling circuit in the Greco Roman and Freestyle categories. He turned heads in his first MMA turn by lasting to a decision with experienced veteran Joe Doerksen, who at the time had thirty-one fights and twenty-two submission wins under his belt.

Fukuda won eight of his next nine, which included a second-round TKO over future UFCer Brandon Wolff, before hitting a tepid four-fight stretch where he batted .500, with Joey Villasenor accounting for one of those losses in EliteXC. At this point, Fukuda would soar with a perfect seven-fight sequence that was highlighted by a win over Murilo Rua in the DREAM 8 welterweight tournament. Fukuda was paired with Rafael Natal for his sophomore effort but injured his knee in a car accident, which required surgery and sidelined the Team Grabaka fighter since his promotional debut at UFC 127 last February.

More UFC 144 Dissections

Yamamoto vs. Lee | Mizugaki vs. Cariaso | Zhang vs. Tamura

Steve "The Robot" Cantwell (7-5) was the WEC light-heavyweight champion when the league underwent its first stage of downsizing and transferred the higher weight classes to the UFC. He left the promotion with only one blemish to Brian Stann after seven outings, but Cantwell avenged the TKO loss by returning the favor in the second round of their rematch, snaring the 205-pound strap in the process.

Cantwell, a BJJ black belt and laudably creative kickboxer, scored a gruesome and cringe-worthy submission win over Roufusport product Razak Al-Hassan in his Octagon debut. From the mount, Cantwell spun for a smooth armbar and then readjusted his angle when Al-Hassan tried to scramble free, treating the at-home viewers to the garish realities of the "tap or snap" catchphrase. The wheels would fall off for Cantwell in his remaining four, as perilous strikers Luiz Cane and Cyrille Diabate out-gunned him on the feet and Stann sealed their trilogy with a win in the rubber match.

The three-fight skid inspired a drop to the middleweight division. In his 185-pound premiere, Cantwell started strong but faded out against Team Bombsquad southpaw Mike Massenzio, who handed him his fourth consecutive loss by decision at UFC 136.

Gifs and analysis in the full entry.

SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson

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