Yushin Okami
is a Japanese Mixed Martial Artist. The Middleweight UFC fighter is most known for defeating current Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva in 2006 before Silva took off on his 10 fight winning streak.
Born on July 21, 1981, Okami, a.k.a. "Thunder", is currently ranked third best Middleweight in the world by Sherdog and second by MMA Weekly.
Okami began his professional fighting career in 2002 with the GCM promotion and Pancrase. By 2003, he had a record of 6-0 and even appeared in Pride The Best Vol. 3.
He now has an all time record of 27-5-0 and has defeated not only Silva but such greats as Nate Marquardt, Mark Munoz and Lucio Linhares.
Eventually he was defeated by Amar Suloev. It was his very first MMA loss.
It was at Rumble on the Rock 8
in Honolulu, Hawaii where Yushin entered a 175 lb. tournament and fought against Anderson Silva. Frank Trigg, Jake Shields and Renato Verissimo were in the tournament as well.
When the Silva vs. Okami bout first started, Silva dominated while on his feet but when the fight went to the ground, Okami took over. After taking a few blows, Silva excecuted an illegal upkick to Okami's chin. Since Okami's knees were on the ground when the kick too place, it was called an illegal strike to the head of a downed opponent.
Though Silva swore he was unaware of any rule of that nature, Okami was allowed to opt for Silva being disqualified, thus winning the fight.
Shields, American Jiu-Jitsu founder, was his next opponent in the tounament. Things did not fare as well for Okami this time though and he lost by majority decision.
This bout was in the line of Shield's 15-fight winning streak.
ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP - THE THUNDER ROLLS
In 2006, Okami came into the UFC with a record of 16-3 and was ranked third in Pancrase Middleweight at that time.
UFC 62
was his first event where he defeated Alan Beclcher via unanimous decision. Kalib Starmes was his next contender at UFC 64. Okami took him out with strikes in round three, winning TKO.
UFC was Okami's third appearance in just three months. He faced off with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt Rory Singer in Las Vegas, Nevada and won with submission via strikes.
By UFC 69: Shoot Out,
Yushin had made the main card line up against Mike Swick. Okami put an end to Swick's 5 fight winning streak with a win via unanimous decision.
In 2007, he competed in the 2007 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship. Although he was defeated by Demian Maia, he retained his four-fight winning streak with the UFC and went on to face
Rich Franklin at UFC 72.
Franklin was the Middleweight Champion and the fight was for the title contender. Though the bout was a close call, Franklin came out on top with the judges, 29-28.
UFC 77 was to be for a shot at the title. Yushin was up against Jason MacDonald and put on his ground and pound to win by unanimous decision.
Although he was supposed to fight Anderson Silva for the Middleweight Championship at UFC 90, Okami was had to drop out because of a broken hand. So it became Silva vs. Cote.
But UFC 92 would offer redemption for Okami when he defeaated the 2003 ADCC Absolute Division gold medalist Dean Lister.
After loosing to Chael Sonnen at UFC 104 in Los Angeles, California, Okami returned to Japan.
UFC Fight Night 21 took place on March 31, 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Okami beat Lucio Linhares, much due to his excellent striking performance.
That August, Okami took Mark Munoz by split decision at UFC Live on Versus:2. Again, Okami used strikes to win the fight.
Defeating Nate Marquardt
November 13, 2010 at UFC 122
was Yushin's ticket to rematch Anderson Silva for the UFC Championship at UFC 134 which will take place in Brazil on August 27, 2011.
THE DRAMA
While Okami is promising another victory over Silva, Silva, on the other hand, is vowing to put an end to the nonsense.
In an interview with Sherdog.com, Okami commented, "I was used to have a meeting where I was told about the rules and that didnt happen in that fight.
I did the wrong thing and Okami could continue to fight. But it's in the rules, if it was an illegal kick, he didnt have to come back. He played by the rules. He was smart."
Whether it was smart strategy or taking the easy way out, the two will soon have the chance to duke it out once again.
It's no doubt Okami has the stats to get to the title shot...but does he have what it takes to win it?
UFC 134 will be a good gage to answer that question.
Update...
Well it was a great gage!
The round was scored 9-8 in favor of Silva, who landed a great shot to the head at the end of the round.
In round 2 Silva took Okami down with a solid punch, then finished him with the ground and pound for the TKO.
WHAT DOES YUSHIN WEAR?
So what does Yushin Okami wear?
If you follow Okami at all, you have most likely noticed that he sports the Sprawl brand like the shorts he is wearing in this photo.
He has also been known to wear TCB such as the TCB x Yushin Okami UFC 122 Walkout Gear.
Most of all though, Yushin is hoping to wear the title of UFC Middleweight Champion.
He holds the record for the second most knockouts, in the UFC (Silva is first). With a record of 21-8-0 he was a force to be recokoned with. He is one of the most popular MMA figures of all times.
Find out what made him so good, and where he came from...
The Iceman
is a Japanese Mixed Martial Artist. The Middleweight UFC fighter is most known for defeating current Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva in 2006 before Silva took off on his 10 fight winning streak.
Born on July 21, 1981, Okami, a.k.a. "Thunder", is currently ranked third best Middleweight in the world by Sherdog and second by MMA Weekly.
Okami began his professional fighting career in 2002 with the GCM promotion and Pancrase. By 2003, he had a record of 6-0 and even appeared in Pride The Best Vol. 3.
He now has an all time record of 27-5-0 and has defeated not only Silva but such greats as Nate Marquardt, 
in Honolulu, Hawaii where Yushin entered a 175 lb. tournament and fought against Anderson Silva. Frank Trigg, 
was his first event where he defeated Alan Beclcher via unanimous decision. Kalib Starmes was his next contender at UFC 64. Okami took him out with strikes in round three, winning TKO.
UFC was Okami's third appearance in just three months. He faced off with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt Rory Singer in Las Vegas, Nevada and won with submission via strikes.
By 
Yushin had made the main card line up against Mike Swick. Okami put an end to Swick's 5 fight winning streak with a win via unanimous decision.
In 2007, he competed in the 2007 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship. Although he was defeated by Demian Maia, he retained his four-fight winning streak with the UFC and went on to face
Rich Franklin 
November 13, 2010 at 
was Yushin's ticket to rematch Anderson Silva for the UFC Championship at UFC 134 which will take place in Brazil on August 27, 2011.
