About Yushin Okami
Yushin Okami, a middleweight MMA fighter, wasn’t all that well known on April 7, 2007. As a result, many predicted that he would lose when he faced Mike “Quick” Swick, a previous TUF 1 contender, in the Octagon that day. Instead, they witnessed Okami completely dominate Swick to the point where the smaller fighter returned to his corner and remarked on Okami’s strength. Swick shifted to welterweight after going down to Okami by decision.
says a lot, doesn’t it? This is Okami’s tale.
Date of Birth: Yushin Okami was born on July 21, 1981, in Kanagawa, Japan.
Martial Arts Background:
At the UFC website, it indicates that Okami has a judo black belt.
Training Camp, Fighting Organization, Nickname:
Okami does most of his training with Team Quest in Portland, Oregon, working with Chael Sonnen, amongst others. He is also affiliated with Wajyutsu Keisyukai, a network of mixed martial arts gyms located in Japan.
Okami competes in UFC fights. He goes by the name Thunder.
Beginnings of MMA
Okami claims that a friend first introduced him to MMA training many years ago. Regardless, he picked everything up quickly. In order to win the amateur pre-Pride 4 competition, Okami had to defeat two opponents before submitting Yuuki Tsutsui with a triangle choke.
However, on September 8, 2002, at a GCM event, his professional MMA career officially began.
by a unanimous vote, defeating Kyosuke Sasaki. In actuality, Okami won his first six professional contests until getting knocked out by Amar Suloev.
The Illegal Upkick with Anderson Silva
On January 20, 2006, Anderson Silva and Okami squared off at Rumble on the Rock 8. Silva landed an erroneous upkick from his back during the contest that Okami was unable to recover from, giving him the victory. This was “The Spider’s” final defeat before the start of his now-famous winning run.
Later, Silva provided the following account of the fight to Sherdog.com: “I think it was a shady, cowardly strategy for triumphing. People who were present observed that he was in a position to return and continue fighting, but he did not.”
Beginnings of UFC
On August 26, 2006, Okami made his UFC debut by decisively defeating Alan Belcher. He really won his first four fights with the organization before falling to Rich Franklin in a contentious decision. At the end of the fight, Franklin came dangerously close to being submitted by kimura.
Combative Style
Okami is a very skilled fighter with a good background in judo and wrestling. He is, in other words, a ground-and-pound nightmare for potential adversaries. In fact, since losing to Chael Sonnen, his wrestling has significantly improved, and it inspired him to visit Team Quest and train with the victor.
Okami’s striking abilities have greatly increased over time. Although he is most dangerous on the ground, he currently has above-average technical standup.
The works of Okami are underappreciated. His resistance to capitulation is outstanding.
Some of Yushin Okami’s great victories in MMA include:
At Rumble on the Rock 8, Okami defeats Anderson Silva via DQ (illegal upkick): Was that a dazzling victory? Oh, no. Even still, it’s noteworthy when you’re the last man to beat a rival before he embarks on one of the greatest winning runs in MMA history.
Mark Munoz is defeated by Okami at UFC Live via split decision: Matyushenko vs. Jones Okami won this match in a hard-fought, close contest. He demonstrated his improved technical striking abilities as well as some impressive takedown defense and general wrestling in it.
Nate Marquardt is defeated by Okami at UFC 122 via unanimous decision: It was a title battle for the middleweight division that was at stake. Okami made it impossible for Marquardt to deliver the shot to anyone else by defeating him.
