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After defeating Nate Marquardt last week at UFC 122, will Yushin Okami capture the UFC Middleweight Championship in 2011?
RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I have no clue as to whether or not Okami will defeat Vitor Belfort or Anderson Silva in 2011. Not only is it too early to to say for sure, not only don't we know who he's going to be facing for the title, but we also don't know how Belfort or Silva are going to look after their own title fight in February. And let's not forget that Okami might be looking at a nine or ten month long layoff before he gets his shot. I'm still just trying to wrap my head around the fact that Okami is the guy we're talking about for this shot. I knew Okami was really good, and I had the utmost respect for the guy, but I thought Marquardt was great. Clearly, I got those two backwards. Okami is great.
ERIC LEE, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Yushin Okami has a very slim chance of getting the title from Anderson Silva. His passive and cautious fighting style is only going to create a boring five round fight. There is even some talk that he may not even get the title shot right away. Could be just rumors but I wouldn't be surprised. Nor would I be disappointed.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
No. The only way Okami will win the title is if he totally reinvents himself and ups his game considerably. At his current level he has maybe a 10% chance of beating either Anderson Silva or Vitor Belfort. He's just not well-rounded enough, and the things he does well aren't at a high enough level to compensate for that.
ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH SPECIALIST
First, I am going with the fact that Anderson will defeat Vitor Belfort when they fight in February. Second, even though Okami is a legit number one contender, he will have his hands full with Anderson anywhere this fight can go. He does not have the skills to beat Anderson Silva, even though he beat him in Pride in 2006 due to a DQ because of an illegal up kick. The Anderson Silvia of today is a far better martial artist than he was in 2006. Okami only has a punchers chance against Anderson in 2011.
ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
No, Yushin Okami will not capture the belt. He'll A.) Lose to Anderson Silva, B.) Get leap frogged by another fighter, or C.) Get cut because the UFC can't do anything with him.
GRIFFIN MARSH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Yushin Okami did well in his victory over Nate the Great. Though he didn't overly impress, he did well enough to secure a unanimous decision. I just do not see him being able to defeat Anderson Silva. I feel Silva will hand Belfort a solid, quick defeat and avenge his fluke loss to Okami by TKO sometime in mid 2011. Okami is without a doubt the number one contender In the middleweight division that is not currently suspended for PED use, and there's no questioning Okami's skills and toughness as he is, in my opinion, the best Japanese fighter in all MMA. The problem is everyone is competing for second place to Silva.
MIKE BACIOR, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Yes, he will. I feel he is highly underrated and has the ability to bully both Vitor and Anderson. I also feel that he would not be tapped out by either man. He will clinch, score takedowns, and hold top position. His strength, submission defense, and wrestling will be key. Training at Team Quest (with Sonnen) will not hurt.
ALEX WILLIAMS, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
No. Anderson Silva will defeat Yushin Okami. It's a very tough style match-up for Silva, though.
TOBEN SHELBY, MMATORCH AUDIO CO-HOST
I think Yushin Okami actually has a decent shot at capturing gold in the UFC's middleweight division - and a more than decent chance if Vitor Belfort is somehow the champion. Okami has some of the tools to maybe find success against Anderson Silva: good wrestling, he doesn't take many risks, and is hard to finish. That could mean he'd provide a bigger challenge to Silva than Chael Sonnen did - Okami's less suspectible to getting caught and he's even been been training with Sonnen since Okami lost to him. However, Silva's pretty good at finding weaknesses in his opponents and exploiting them, so Okami's still a big underdog. If Okami faces Belfort though, I think he'll likely end up being champ. Belfort doesn't hold up over the course of a long fight as well as Silva does and Okami has the tools to negate Belfort's bursts of offense.
JAMIE PENICK, MMATORCH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
I think it depends on which fighter Okami has to face in his title shot. I think his style may match up better against Belfort than Silva, and I'd give him a better chance against "The Phenom" than "The Spider." With that said, I do believe that Okami will be a significant underdog against either fighter when he gets his shot in 2011, and ultimately I do not think he will be the division's champion when all is said and done.
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