UFC 116 Preview: Yoshihiro Akiyama, Chris Leben Collide in Impromptu Battle

In an interesting late twist to the UFC 116 middleweight match-up between Japanese judoka Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1-0-2, 1-0 UFC) and PRIDE legend Wanderlei Silva, Chris Leben (20-6, 10-5 UFC), who only fought roughly two weeks ago, has stepped in to replace Silva after Silva suffered a knee injury during training camp. The chaos that ensued following the announcement was that Akiyama was possibly going to pull out of the fight due to the limited amount of time he had to prepare and the fact that Leben was not as as well-known as Silva. Fortunately, Akiyama eventually accepted the change and both men will meet at UFC 116 in a bout scheduled directly before the explosive main event between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin.

Akiyama's UFC debut against Alan Belcher probably didn't go as well as he had hoped. He barely scraped by with a split decision victory over the larger Belcher, and Akiyama did show some weaknesses in his conditioning as well as in his ability to acclimate himself to his new environment in the Octagon.

Leben knocked out Aaron Simpson at The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale on June 19th, earning a "Knockout of the Night" bonus. He managed to stave off being cut from the promotion in an impressive performance against Jay Silva at UFN 20, but he did suffer two previous losses to Jake Rosholt and Michael Bisping at UFC 102 and UFC 89 respectively.

Leben's iron chin and heavy hands have always been his primary offense and defense in any fight, and it's a given that his gameplan will be to go out and knock Akiyama out standing. His conditioning has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride over the years, but he always seems to have something left in the gas tank when an opportunity presents itself late. Very tough to finish due to his chin, but his major weaknesses comes in the defense against the submission game, an area that Akiyama may take full advantage, and his defense on the feet.

Akiyama also possesses knockout power, but his strongest suit is in the judo game in the clinch. He has some creative ways to sweep, trip, and put opponents to the mat, a change of pace from a wrestler like Aaron Simpson. He favors the armbar submission, but he'll also posture up from guard and bomb opponents with punches instead of working for positions and submissions.

Unlike some of the other match-ups on the card, there is another issue to think about in how this fight may go down. With such a short notice replacement in Leben, both Leben and Akiyama have advantages and disadvantages due to the sudden change. Leben more than likely trained heavily in his takedown defense for Simpson, who has a solid NCAA wrestling background, and Akiyama's background points him in the direction of a takedown gameplan. But Leben will more than likely be a bit fatigued and not at 100% due to some of the blows he took against Simpson. He also happens to have a rather one dimensional gameplan whereas Akiyama has the capabilities to adapt.

With Wanderlei, Akiyama probably expected a striking war in which he'd have to be much more precise in his punching and defense. Sure, that'll help him against Leben, but is it worth trying to land those punches against a guy who is a proven knockout artist? Probably not.

It certainly adds intrigue to what can happen in this fight, and I really do believe it hurts Akiyama more than Leben, a fighter who hardly ever changes his gameplan. Akiyama will probably want to take this fight into his territory on the ground, but has he had enough time to completely change his training and become more acclimated to a ground fight versus a stand-up battle?

Let's be honest with ourselves. Akiyama's record isn't that impressive. At the time of his knockout of Denis Kang, Kang was still considered a highly-touted veteran fighter who needed to head to the UFC. Once in the UFC, he failed miserably. And in reality, Chris Leben could probably knock out most of Akiyama's competition just as quickly.

A lot of controversy went into his loss to Kazuo Misaki, which was eventually overturned because it was deemed an illegal blow to a downed opponent. It was exactly that... illegal, but much of the talk from Japan centered around the possibility of Akiyama's chin weakening from the blow. His next two opponents weren't knockout threats, and it only fueled more speculation that he was being protected by the promotion.

But that may be all it is. Speculation. From watching Belcher land some fairly heavy blows to Akiyama's cranium, I'd say he answered any doubts, but he'll need to answer a major doubt in this match-up. Can he withstand the power that Chris Leben can provide and has made a career on?

I'm a bit torn on this fight, which really adds more excitement to this event for me. For all the great things Akiyama has done in Japan, he just hasn't fought the level of competition that Leben has faced. That isn't to say he is incapable of rising to the occasion, but I feel rather nervous about his chances. Leben isn't someone who will roll over and die on contact. Akiyama must get him down, and he must land heavy damage early in order to take some wind out of Leben's sails. He wasn't able to do that against Belcher. He must do it here.

With my long diatribe of analysis in the books, I'm going with Akiyama. I still believe his Judo game is going to be a huge problem for Leben in that Akiyama incorporates a lot more unorthodox, or should I say rarely used, ways in which he can take down opponents. He has a solid top control game, and his leg kicks in combination with his straight punches on the feet could give Leben problems as well. Let's not forget that Leben probably won't be 100% for this fight. I'll bank on Akiyama providing the "Sexyama" fanboys some more material for months to come.

Poll

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Chris Leben... who you got!?

52%

Yoshihiro Akiyama

830 votes

47%

Chris Leben

757 votes

1587 votes | Poll has closed