Dana White Previews UFC on Versus 2 - Says Yushin Okami Is "Due for a Title Shot"
by Nick Thomas on Jul 31, 2010 4:26 PM EDT
in MMA News
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PrintDana White on Jon Jones - "Once he breaks into that top eight [at 205], you're talking Shogun Rua, you're talking Machida, you're talking Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, you know, you're talking all the best guys in the world right now. He’s got a long way for a title shot, it’s gonna take a while. He’s gotta knock off some serious competition."
Dana White On Yushin Okami - "Winning this fight would be big. I say it all the time, you know, Yushin Okami is one of the best 185lb’ers in the world and has been for a while. This guy’s due for a title shot."
HT: versus.com
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"This guy’s due for a title shot."
Yeah I’m not buying that one. If Okami has a bad or boring outing I bet Dana will tell Joe Silva to get him back on the prelims.
Plus with Sonnen next than Belfort the winner of this fight will either get the winner of Belcher/Maia or the winner of Marquardt/Phallares.
He may be...
I don’t think Okami will have a bad outing. He’s a better striker than Munoz and i see him holding his own in the wrestling game.
Dana has mentioned Belfort
potentially needing one more win to secure a title shot.
The Okami / Munoz winner, the Marquadt / Paul Harris winner or Belcher if he gets past Maia could all make sense against Belfort in an eliminator.
I hope he does
I’m rooting for Belcher-Belfort
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by Derek Suboticki on Jul 31, 2010 6:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Vitor is scheduled to do the autograph session for 117 so I bet he will be getting in the cage to greet the winner of the Silva/Sonnen fight as the next challenger.
There's no depth to my shallowness.
by Earl Montclair on Jul 31, 2010 6:21 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah it’s hard to imagine Vitor’s first fight in over a year being a title shot. Runs contrary to what Dana was saying about Shogun and Gomi needing time after a layoff to get in a solid groove again.
by Kwisatz Haderach on Jul 31, 2010 6:11 PM EDT up reply actions
if Jones beats Vlad, what serious competition outside the top does he have left? Looking at the rankings, the only opponent that really works would be Rich Franklin. That might actually be a good, sellable fight. I think he’s suppose to come back in the winter so the timing should work.
Jones could fight winner of Bader/lil nog or thiago silva. Griffin is another possibility but on the high end.
by Cocytus on Jul 31, 2010 4:56 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Bones would destroy Griffin
I’d like to see him fight Lil Nog or Thiago Silva, more of the latter really.
Nick Garcia is the Brian Russell of MLS but 10 times worse.
Like Cain and JDS were, Bader and Jones are on separate tracks
I can’t see a scenario where they meet in a non-title fight unless one or both are coming off of legit losses.
Franklin, Griffin and Couture are loyal company guys and would probably accept the fight, but I can’t see Dana ruining any of them like that.
Little Nog is a possibility, whether he wins or loses against Bader.
Thiago would be ideal, but he seems as injury prone as Griffin or Shogun.
Loser of Maachida-Rampage makes sense, except they would already have 2 losses.
Quite the dilemma really…
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." -Author Schopenhauer
Haters are gonna hate and bitches are gonna bitch...
by BigDNotDallas on Jul 31, 2010 8:08 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Translation
Okami is one of the best 185’ers in the world (not really, I just say that to keep him relevant in my promotion)
He’s due for a title shot (not really, but I’d like him to be a champ to further entice the asian markets im trying to break into)
And the asian nations love a champion i.e. the popularity of Kobe over Lebron.
If Okami continues to win
he could headline a card in Asia vs Silva.
Dana wants to make the trip, is it possible though?
Maybe, but probably not
The early UFC 20’s had like 3 cards in japan and they were just awful. The asian crowds are way different, they just sit there in silence. Not sure if Dana could ever put on a card in Japan in a way to emulate the american MMA experience. One would have to make a cultural change if it were to be televised and well received by Americans
Hate to say I called it
But…
Cageside Questions for UFC on Versus 2
Jeremiah Johnson, Cageside Seats
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by Jeremiah Johnson. on Jul 31, 2010 5:16 PM EDT reply actions
you're
your getting you’re “theres” mixed up their, aren’t you?
I mean, let's think about this for a second
If Okami wins, he’ll be 9-2 in the UFC. Has there ever been a fighter with that good of record in the UFC who never got a title shot?
I can’t think of anyone in UFC history with a 9-2 or really comparable record who never fought for the title. His two losses are to Franklin and Sonnen, both top 5 guys.
Jeremiah Johnson, Cageside Seats
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by Jeremiah Johnson. on Jul 31, 2010 5:19 PM EDT reply actions
Tyson Griffin maybe?
"Your not gonna jab and shoulder roll your way away from Brock Lesnar; He is gonna fuck you." - Joe 'High as Fuck' Rogan
Tyson Griffin has gone 7-3 in the UFC. I love Tyson but he is kind of America’s Tatsuya Kawajiri.
The couple of times they have put him in the mix he’s failed. First against Sherk and then against Dunham. Kind of like Stevenson as well.
Agreed
it’s a shame because I always like him.
"Your not gonna jab and shoulder roll your way away from Brock Lesnar; He is gonna fuck you." - Joe 'High as Fuck' Rogan
Sonnen wasn’t top five going into that fight – that was a big upset.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
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Still Subo at Fightlinker.com
by Derek Suboticki on Jul 31, 2010 6:02 PM EDT up reply actions
It was a shocking upset
Say what you want about Sonnen’s chances against Anderson, but there aren’t many fighters who you can argue would beat Okami and Marquart back to back like Sonnen did.
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"I thought I was getting raped by Freddy Mercury."
- Tank Abbot
on his decision loss to Dan Severn in 1995
They have tried to give him a shot
On two separate occasions they tried to book him into a title fight with Anderson and on both occasions he got injured. A lot of people like to claim that the reason he hasn’t had a title shot yet in the UFC is because of his “boring” style and the UFC’s unwillingness to book him in a title fight, but that’s just flat untrue.
The real reason is that Okami has just had bad luck with injuries and then when he finally got healthy he lost to Sonnen.
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by Worldisart on Jul 31, 2010 6:07 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
100% true – he also had a #1 contender’s fight against Rich Franklin that he lost.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
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Still Subo at Fightlinker.com
by Derek Suboticki on Jul 31, 2010 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions
It's really unfortunate
Had he beat Sonnen, Okami probably gets the call to replace Vitor at 112 and we probably don’t have the debacle that was the Anderson/Maia fight. And rather than talking about Silva’s “bad attitude” or Sonnen’s smack talk, we’d be talking about THE superfight; Anderson Silva versus Georges St. Pierre at a catchweight of 179.
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"I thought I was getting raped by Freddy Mercury."
- Tank Abbot
on his decision loss to Dan Severn in 1995
You make a good point, and right now I’m really doubting that Vitor is going to be next for Anderson. He’s been out too long. Assuming they’ll want Anderson’s next defense late in the year, that’s not really enough time for a #1 contender fight in the interim. If Okami looks amazing, he might get the call, while Vitor gets a tune-up fight. But he’ll have to win pretty impressively to make his case.
by Kwisatz Haderach on Jul 31, 2010 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Translation:
I think he is a contender and should get a chance, but until u guys get behind that fight….that is make sure it does some monster numbers. I mean i got this Champ , best in the world, but he just can’t pull numbers on his own….
Look you want Okami to get a title shot then go talk to the crappy media sites that always blame shit on me and tell them to get behind this guy. Then maybe we could sell this thing.
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