USA Today reports that Yushin Okami will get his title shot against UFC middleweight Anderson Silva in Rio. The title fight will main event the much-anticipated event in Brazil in August.
Via USA Today:
Oddsmakers will favor Silva, but Okami employs a wrestling-based grinder’s approach, which has been the champion’s achilles heel in the past. Chael Sonnen came within two minutes of beating the middleweight champion last year by peppering him from the top after takedowns each round. Dan Henderson used the same approach to win the first round of his March 2008 bout with Silva before succumbing in the second.
Payout Perspective:
This was the best spot for this matchup as the UFC follows up on giving Okami his long-awaited title shot. The UFC does not have to worry about the draw (or lack thereof) of this matchup as it comes secondary to the fact that the UFC is returning to Rio. Not only will Silva draw fans, the anticipated return of Royce Gracie to the Octagon should be an attraction.
The UFC could leverage the fact that Okami trained with Chael Sonnen at Team Quest as potential fodder for publicity leading up to the August matchup. Certainly Sonnen will be a willing volunteer to talk about the matchup and even be a part of a UFC Primetime or Countdown show.
Sounds like posturing. The idea that all boxers make more than their MMA counterparts is a myth. The big money is only for the top guys, just like in MMA. The boxing community does not care about Nick Diaz (other than to see an “MMA guy” get put in his place), and he is not as valuable in boxing as he is in MMA. I doubt the match comes to fruition.
Please delete that post. It was meant to go with the Nick Diaz article. Sorry guys!