Chael Sonnen brings in Yushin Okami to train for Nate Marquardt: "The day after our match, we...

Chael Sonnen brings in Yushin Okami to train for Nate Marquardt:

"The day after our match, we were heading to the airport to fly home and we ended up in the same van. Not only did we end up in the same van, it was just us in the van and Okami told me he wanted to come train with me. I gave him Matt Lindland’s contact info and I believe he had his manager contact Matt, which is how this all came about."

... "Okami's great. He’s one of the nicest guys and he works really hard. I beat him in our fight, but I don’t think I’ve beaten him a round since. The neatest thing in the world is when your former adversary becomes your training partner. We definitely have a bond. He speaks very little English; we communicate with a lot of hand gestures, so we’re mostly using our fighting as communication in the gym."

HT: cagepotato.com
-- photo by Dave Mandel, sherdog
UFC 109 coverage

about 2 years ago Nick Thomas 33 comments 0 recs |

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Comments

I don’t know why, but I find this extremely cool and it makes me like Sonnen a ton more.

by Chris Barton on Dec 15, 2009 10:46 AM EST reply actions

YEAH!

And since I thrive on hating Chael, I’m not sure I like these feelings.

Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.

by jemaleddin on Dec 15, 2009 11:01 AM EST up reply actions 8 recs

Let the hate flow through you

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Anthony Pace on Dec 15, 2009 11:20 AM EST up reply actions 6 recs

something something something something dark side!

I rarely tweet
I less-rarely write

by woomikee on Dec 15, 2009 11:37 AM EST up reply actions

something something something complete!

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Anthony Pace on Dec 15, 2009 11:48 AM EST up reply actions

Goooodddd! Heh, heh,heh

by Kwisatz Haderach on Dec 15, 2009 1:24 PM EST up reply actions

^^This

Just when I thought I could not like Machida any less....UFC 104

by beery_pbr on Dec 15, 2009 11:01 AM EST up reply actions

This is such a heartwarming holiday story.

The mat is my church, the ground is my heaven, Jiu-Jitsu is my religion. And once you hit the ground you're in my world. My world is like the ocean, I’m like a shark and most people don't even know how to swim - Draculino

by Patrick Tenney on Dec 15, 2009 10:48 AM EST reply actions

If they were ever to rematch I’d take Okami in a second. Chael definitely benefitted from a great game plan. Well done Couture.

by Dooda on Dec 15, 2009 10:49 AM EST reply actions

That is an awesome story. Yushin is an excellent wreslter and should be perfect for Cheal to sharpen up his TD defense.

for all intents and purposes, just consider all my posts as works of satire.

by Bandaka on Dec 15, 2009 10:55 AM EST reply actions

That’s the nicest thing I’ve read all day.

by klown on Dec 15, 2009 11:21 AM EST reply actions

Between the nazi shirts and the mir fight, that’s the nicest thing I’ve read all month.

"You hit too hard, too hard, too hard..."

by spectaa on Dec 15, 2009 11:45 AM EST up reply actions

First, the Joe Stevenson story, and now this

It must be the holidays or something because nice and cool things are happening in the MMA world. The Stevenson story was more cool, but this story is more heartwarming.

by chrisbboy82 on Dec 15, 2009 11:53 AM EST reply actions

whats the stevenson story?

by Matthew Roth on Dec 15, 2009 12:29 PM EST up reply actions

It’s a recommended fanposts here on BE by VikingPhotography called,
“Almost two years on, I (awkwardly) thanked Joe Stevenson”

by chrisbboy82 on Dec 15, 2009 12:34 PM EST up reply actions

just read it…great story

by Matthew Roth on Dec 15, 2009 2:58 PM EST up reply actions

Oh man. I don’t like the look of this at all. Underdog beats higher ranked fighter, who then swallows his pride and goes to motivate other fighter.

This can only mean Yushin Okami is going to be killed in the ring by an Ivan Drago type fighter.

by TLow on Dec 15, 2009 12:30 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

yep, immediately what I thought of

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Anthony Pace on Dec 15, 2009 12:48 PM EST up reply actions 5 recs

hmm i do believe a gif is required here.

by Riley_96 on Dec 15, 2009 1:35 PM EST up reply actions

What a heart warming holiday tail of love. Rematch

Some people think I am a dumb, ugly human being, but really I am a beautiful ape, with exceptional verbal skills.

by szucconi on Dec 15, 2009 12:31 PM EST reply actions

"tail of love" made me feel dirty

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Anthony Pace on Dec 15, 2009 12:49 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, I typed it, saw that it was wrong and it made me laugh, so I decided to leave it there. I make tons of errors so people don’t expect perfection from me. But this one was a happy mistake.

Some people think I am a dumb, ugly human being, but really I am a beautiful ape, with exceptional verbal skills.

by szucconi on Dec 15, 2009 3:15 PM EST up reply actions

That’s the first nice thing I’ve ever seen associated to Chael Sonnen.

I still hate him though.

"My diet is like Atkins, but with the carbs." - BJ Penn

by Tim Burke on Dec 15, 2009 1:05 PM EST reply actions

Ok, that's nice and all..

But how’s he going to defend Marquardt’s finishing move combo.

by HappyLittleTreez on Dec 15, 2009 1:33 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Not hard

Sonnen only needs to block like two shots. The rest will miss but will still amuse some fans somehow.

I don’t like Sonnen but Nate should be thanking his good luck in being matched an opponent that knows how to promote a fight. Nate and his no personality is already making fans fall asleep with the “promos” he’s going to cut for the bout (Um, I trained really hard and yeah. I want a title shot but I’ll do whatever the UFC says. Um…I trained really hard and I want a title sho…).

by 831 Son on Dec 15, 2009 3:58 PM EST up reply actions