View full size photo »

Today Yoshihiro Akiyama confirmed he'll be facing Wanderlei Silva in his next UFC bout, a fight that was first reported by our own Luke Thomas.

Steve Cofield comments:

The matchmaking possibilities are limitless for a guy with the appeal of Wanderlei Silva. Silva is what's great about the way mixed martial arts book its fights. It's not about the records or an unbeaten streak, it's about the action and appeal of the fights. Silva could go 6-6 over a 12-fight period and people will still pay just like they did until Arturo Gatti's career ran out of gas.

Silva, trying to reinvent himself as a middleweight, looks to be headed toward a fight with Japan mega-star Yoshihiro Akiyama in February. ... It sounds like a perfect fit for the UFC's first event in Australia. Not a bad 10-hour jaunt for Japanese fight fans.

The Silva-"Sexyama" fight may not capture the imagination of the casual American fan but it's a huge international fight with some good questions going in. Can Silva actually get down to 185 pounds and not be gassed two minutes into the fight. And can Akiyama, who looks to be carrying some excess beef at 185, take Silva's punch? Akiyama may find out he needs to slim down and head to welterweight. He was nearly carried out of the cage after his win over Alan Belcher at UFC 100. Belcher is a really good striker but doesn't bring the thunder like Silva does.

I don't agree with Cofield about the fight not having appeal to U.S. casuals. Silva is an established UFC star. His bang-it-out style has won the hearts of UFC fans even though he's lost more than he's won in the Octagon. His epic bout with Chuck Liddell and KO of Keith Jardine struck a chord.

Akiyama also has an excellent chance of catching on with American fans. His dramatic entrance to open the UFC 100 pay per view caught people's attention and his balls-out Fight of the Night winning performance against Alan Belcher won them over.

But Cofield's analysis is largely correct -- this fight will be (even) bigger in Japan than in the States. Silva's years of headlining PRIDE cards made him one of the most feared fighters in Japan. And Akiyama is one of the biggest stars MMA has produced in Japan. Headlining their first Austrailian card with Silva vs Akiyama is very smart. For one thing, there's only an hour time difference between Sydney and Tokyo. Japanese fans will be able to watch the fight live and they'll want to.

From a match-making perspective, the fight is also sheer genius. Wanderlei's loss to Rich Franklin prevented his immediate entrance into the middleweight ranks as a contender. But if Wandy KO's Akiyama in dramatic fashion, he's instantly in the title hunt. If he loses, he'll be perfectly positioned to face Vitor Belfort (should Belfort lose to Anderson Silva that is) in a rematch fans have waited a decade for.

As for Akiyama, a high-profile win over Wanderlei will catch the attention of the casuals and get him one step closer to a title shot. I would expect that Akiyama would only need one more win after that to find himself fighting for the UFC title.

If Sexyama loses, Cofield has hit the nail on the head. Time to cut down to 170lbs and get in the welterweight hunt. I find the mere hint of GSP vs Akiyama to be very intriguing.

In sum, this is just brilliant match-making. Not only is the fight itself compelling to both casual and serious fans around the world, every possible outcome creates other intriguing possibilities. Well done Joe Silva.