Yushin Okami Has a “W” Over Anderson Silva, but Does He Have the Arsenal To Outgun the Champ?
When Yushin Okami stepped into the cage with Anderson Silva in January of 2006, he came into the cage confident he was going to win, but there is no way he could have predicted how he ultimately won.
In one of the most unusual finishes to a mixed martial arts fight, Silva threw a kick from the bottom position, it landed square on Okami's chin and knocked him out. Despite the astounding creativity, accuracy and power behind the technique, it was ruled a disqualification, as Okami had both knees on the mat. Thus, it was an illegal strike.
That was the last blemish on Anderson Silva's record. And oddly enough … even when he loses, his opponent ends up in an unconscious state.
At UFC 134 in Brazil, Silva is looking to get another KO over Okami … this time via legal strikes. Okami, on the other hand, is determined to show he can finish the job Chael Sonnen so nearly finished. Here's how these two middleweight warriors stack up for this South American card.
STRIKING
Even the most brilliant of attorneys would have a tough time making a case for Yushin Okami being the better striker in this battle.
While the Japanese middleweight can generate some stellar force from his knees and has improved his striking technique to go along with his natural punching power, Anderson Silva's resume of victims via his eight lethal limbs has been well documented. You're never quite what Silva is going to pull out of his bag of striking tricks, but you can always count on them being pinpoint accurate and devastating. Creativity, velocity, accuracy and ferocity are a rare combination, and Silva meshes all those forces so seamlessly, and that has enabled him to stand apart from everyone at middleweight.
Even though Silva’s upkick against Okami was an illegal blow, it has to be a psychologically damaging factor somewhere in the recesses of the Okami neural network.
EDGE: Silva
EDITOR’S NOTE: THE FULL STORY IS IN THE OCTOBER ISSUE. PHOTO CREDIT: ZUFFA LLC VIA GETTY
