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YUSHIN OKAMI
Nickname Thunder
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 181 lb (82 kg)
Nationality Japanese
Born July 21, 1981 (1981-07-21) (age 26)
Town of birth Kanagawa, Japan
Team/Association Wajyutsu Keisyukai
Fighting style Wrestling, Kickboxing
Mixed martial arts record
Wins 21
By knockout 7
By submission 4
Losses 4
Draws 0
No contests 0
A relative newcomer to the sport, Okami has only been competing on the professional level since 2002. Okami started his career fighting in several different organizations, such as Pancrase and PRIDE Fighting Championships, amassing a record of 6-0 before being defeated by Amar Suloev. He continued fighting in multiple promotions before arriving at Rumble on the Rock, one of Hawaii's most well-known organizations, where he competed in their 175 lb tournament. This particular tournament was held in high regard by the mixed martial arts community, as well-known fighters such as Anderson Silva, Frank Trigg, Renato Verissimo, and Jake Shields were to be involved.
In the opening round of the tournament, Okami fought Anderson Silva; the bout resulted in a disqualification victory for Okami, as Silva executed an illegal up-kick to the head while both of Okami's knees were grounded. The referee intervened immediately, calling a stop to the fight. In the next round of the tournament, Okami faced Jake Shields, a tournament favorite. Okami used his takedown defense and striking range to hold Shields to a majority decision; however, the decision did not lean in Okami's favor. Shields went on to win the tournament and became Rumble on the Rock's first 175 lb Grand Prix champion. Afterwards, Okami amassed two victories in Japan, including one over Pancrase veteran Izuru Takeuchi, before signing a contract with the UFC.
Okami made his UFC debut at UFC 62, defeating Alan Belcher by unanimous decision. He then defeated Kalib Starnes via TKO (strikes) at UFC 64, and made his third UFC appearance at UFC 66, defeating Rory Singer by submission from strikes. Singer was a replacement for Okami's original opponent, David Terrell, who had withdrawn from the card due to an elbow injury.
After winning three consecutive fights in the UFC, Okami was matched up against The Ultimate Fighter 1's Mike Swick at UFC 69 in Houston, Texas. Okami won the bout by unanimous decision.
Okami recently competed in the ADCC 2007 under 87 kg (191 lb) tournament on May 5, 2007 and lost to Demian Maia in the elimination round. Maia went on to defeat Rafael Lovato, Tarsis Humphres, and Flavio Almeida that day, winning the tournament.
Most recently, Okami lost via unanimous decision to former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin at UFC 72 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
His last fight was on October 20, 2007 against Jason MacDonald at UFC 77, where he won by Unanimous Decision.
As stated in some of the commentary in his fights, Okami is unlike many traditional Japanese mixed martial arts fighters and prefers to Ground-and-pound rather than look for a submission in a fight.
Source: Wikipedia
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