Report: Yoshihiro Akiyama Could Make UFC Debut At UFC 100 Against Alan Belcher
by Kelvin Hunt on Mar 10, 2009 1:43 PM EDT
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Via MMAjunkie:
UFC newcomer Yoshihiro Akiyama (12-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), a highly regarded middleweight who signed with the UFC in February, could make his octagon debut against UFC veteran Alan Belcher (14-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) at UFC 100.
A source close to the negotiations told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the proposed fight hasn't been signed and "isn't set in stone," but bout agreements could be distributed and finalized soon.
This is great news in my opinion. The initial rumor was that Alan Belcher was going to be taking on Alessio Sakara. No disrespect to Sakara, but it just wasn't right for Belcher to go from beating Denis Kang to fighting him. So now we could possibly have Belcher fighting a legitimate top ten MW, who's making his UFC debut. That's the best of both worlds for Belcher. A win against Akiyama would be huge for his career and catapult him up the MW ladder. However, that would spoil all the plans Zuffa has in terms of holding shows in Korea and abroad. An Akiyama win solidifies him in the UFC as they get ready to make their move for expansion.
As it stands right now, UFC 100 is shaping up to look like this:
- George St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves
- Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar II
- Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping
- Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan Belcher
Thoughts on this matchup if it's comes to fruition?
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of MMA4Real readers and do not necessarily reflect those of MMA4Real editors or staff.
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Even though sometime he seems like a tool, I am a Belcher fan and I agree that if he were to beat Akiyama, he would be on a completely different level, in the fans eyes as well as the organizations. I also totally agree that going from Kang to Sakara. That would be like going from Wandy to Jardine- oh, my bad.
...some call me "el mexicutioner"...
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