UFC 144: Japan

[Svino]

What do you guys think about Akiyama/Shields?

What makes this fight interesting is that:

1) Shields is generally considered to be a vastly better fighter.
2) Shields has shit stand-up.
3) As far as I can tell, Akiyama has never once been taken down.

[Ludo]

They're not even his people. He's Korean.

"Yoshihiro Akiyama (秋山 成勲 Akiyama Yoshihiro?), born Choo Sung-hoon (Hangul: 추성훈, Hanja: 秋成勳), is a Japanese mixed martial artist and judoka. He is a fourth-generation Japanese of Korean descent and acquired Japanese nationality in 2001."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshihiro_Akiyama

He's been japanese as long as you've been a man, man.

[SPX]

I've heard they don't accept him and that he's basically not viewed as really being Japanese by the Japanese.

[Ludo]

I've heard they don't accept him and that he's basically not viewed as really being Japanese by the Japanese.

Link or GTFO.

[SPX]

Link or GTFO.

http://www.sherdog.com/radio/Beatdown-Jake-Shields-2311

[Ludo]

http://www.sherdog.com/radio/Beatdown-Jake-Shields-2311

I'm not listening to a 2 hour radio show. If thats all you have then you might as well just call him Japanese. Motherfucker competed for Japan in the Asian Championship in Judo. If his people didn't accept him as Japanese he wouldn't have represented them.

[SPX]

BOL. Fine.

I'm not saying he hasn't tried hard as fuck to be Japanese, even going so far as to change his name. But I have heard from numerous sources that the Japanese people do not really accept him, with the Beatdown show being just one of several places I've heard it.

[SPX]

After taking another look at this card, I don't see anything on the undercard worth betting . . . but pretty much everything on the main card is worth betting. With the right odds, I'll bet every single fight on the main card.

With that said, Hioki/Bartimus, Hunt/Kongo, and Bendo/Edgar are all really hard to call, in my opinion. And Shields/Akiyama is kind of iffy too in that if Shields can't get Akiyama down things could become very interesting.

[trotterz]

After taking another look at this card, I don't see anything on the undercard worth betting . . . but pretty much everything on the main card is worth betting. With the right odds, I'll bet every single fight on the main card.

With that said, Hioki/Bartimus, Hunt/Kongo, and Bendo/Edgar are all really hard to call, in my opinion. And Shields/Akiyama is kind of iffy too in that if Shields can't get Akiyama down things could become very interesting.

akiyama always gasses, I don't think Shields will have a poroblem to take a gassed akiyama down in the later rounds.

[poopoo333]

Just not sure if Akiyama will be able to keep it on the feet and outstrike Shields. I wonder if Shields is going to have trouble acclimating to Japan which may make his weight cut that much harder (we all know 170 isn't easy for him).

[poopoo333]

Do any of you see Kongo losing to Hunt? I just can't see it...perhaps hedge a Kongo bet with Hunt KO of the night? I just think Kongo is going to take Hunt down against the cage and beat him up

[MMA_scientist]

I could see Hunt beating him with strikes. Kongo got rocked and almost put away by Barry, and he of course got dropped by Mir too. Hunt hits as hard or harder than both those guys. Kongo is going to look to take it down where he should have a massive edge, and he should be able to get the takedown too. But I still worry about Hunt's power. But, yeah, Kongo should win that. His striking is not so bad that it is do or die on the takedown. Depends on the line for me. Kongo is going to be the favorite, just depends how steep for me.

[Mr. IWS]

I just think Kongo is going to take Hunt down against the cage and beat him up

+1

[poopoo333]

I am guessing Kongo -325 or worse... and Hunt will be dangerous in the 1st round imo, but if Kongo can wall and stall..Hunt will gas

[Luke]

Kongo is -205