Yushin Okami vs. Dean Lister Added To UFC 92
Top middleweight contender Yushin Okami (22-4) will return to the octagon on December 27th to take on Dean Lister (11-5) at UFC 92 in Las Vegas, according to MMA Weekly.
Okami was to square off with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva for the 185-pound title in the main event of UFC 90 in October but was knocked out of the bout due to a broken hand and was replaced by Patrick Cote. With his hand now healed he’ll return to the cage in December and will look to keep his immediate title aspirations alive against Lister. Okami, who holds a DQ victory over Silva, is 7-1 in the UFC, losing his lone bout to Rich Franklin in June 2007 before rebounding for back-to-back wins over Jason MacDonald and Evan Tanner.
Lister, a former King of the Cage champion, is 4-1 in the UFC, losing to Nate Marquardt while earning victories over Alessio Sakara, Yuki Sasaki, Jordan Radev, and most-recently Jeremy Horn. He was to take on Thales Leites at UFC Fight Night 15 earlier this month but was forced to withdraw from the matchup after suffering a minor knee injury.
The middleweight matchup is slated for the UFC 92 main card, which is headlined by UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira versus former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.
For more on UFC 92 check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section.
Tags: Dean Lister, Yushin Okami
Loading ...
should be a good fight,can see lister upsetting okamis title hopes
Not a good deal for Okami – he should have had Silva next. In my eyes, he is the only legit challenge to Silva left at 185 (aside from rematches w/ Hendo and Marquardt.) If he loses to Lister, he has to start from the bottom again. Not a good deal at all.
I agree that it is not a good deal for Okami. I do think he will still win, but Lister isn’t a slouch, and poses a threat of winning this fight just because his jits is so good.
Okami’s head looks smaller than usual in that picture……HGH? Roids? Okami should handle Lister no problem. True, Lister does have some fancy jits but Okami is still stronger, better in the clinch and more well rounded. Okami has also faced stiffer competition. Lister is being used as a stepping stone for Okami to get his title shot and not go into the title fight rusty. There is a chance Lister could win but I really doubt it….you never know though…..
this is a joke of a fight LAME… UFC is hoping for a Bisping / Silva fight… lets face it.. Okami isnt going to get his chance..
THUWAK,
How is it lame? Elaborate please….. I am sure the UFC is hoping for Bisping/Silva in late 2009 but that doesn’t mean Okami won’t get his chance.
Found this somewhere:
Rich Franklin could meet Dan Henderson Jan. 17 at UFC 93
Sorry to post so quickly but I thought the only UFC event listed for January was January 31…..
F it….it’s an update.
i agree that ufc want’s a bisping silva fight but that’s not gonna happen for a while. he’s gotta get thru leben, then it sounds like he’ll be coaching on TUF and fighting Hendo after that, then after he wakes up from his coma, he’ll prolly be too old to fight anymore, hahah. but best case scenario that fight is almost a year away, so there’s plenty of time for okami to get his shot if he beats lister which i think was a good move for him cuz it’s a chance to get back into fighting shape against a good opponent but someone that he should still handle pretty easily. you also have to remember that okami “beat” silva so the UFC and Silva probably both want this fight to happen because they can hype up that “loss.”
Many good points, 2girls2cups. I do doubt that Hendo will put Bisping into a coma for 20 years, however. Not saying I don’t think he can beat him, just that I doubt he’ll be in a 20 year coma afterwards. If Chuck Liddell can fight again soon after the shot he took, I think Bisping will be okay taking a hit from Hendo.
ya, it was just wishful thinking on my part. i don’t think it’ll happen either. but i do believe that hendo should be the overwhelming favorite in that fight.
new changes to the site, thought ide clicked the wrong button haha
what weight would franklin an hendo fight at?? i thought franklin wanted to stay at 205, i hope okami gets beat i dont think he would stand a chance against silva, so i hope he gets beat so i never have to watch that fight cos it would not intrest me one bit!
mmmmmmmmmm the site has gone back to the old style now kris whats going on??
or maybe i should stop smokeing crack haha (joke)
I don’t think the Hendo/Franklin fight will come through – Hendo is getting ready to coach on TUF, and Franklin is now at 205 and not going anywhere. It would make more sense for Franklin to fight Shogun. I disagree about Lister being a stepping stone for Okami. In this sense, it’s actually the other way around (not taking anything away from Okami.) Okami gets nothing from this fight; he was the true #1 contender until the hand injury, and should technically be next in line for Silva. If Okami loses, he’s back to square 1. This is more of an opportunity for Lister, who you really can’t count out on this one; Okami likes GnP, and Lister, being one of the world’s top grapplers, could always pull out a slick submission and get the upset win AND become the new #1 contender. In this sense, Okami is a stepping stone, even though he is the better overall fighter.
should be fun to watch two sleepers fight…wonder who will get the decision
lister is not a sleeper you fag he is one of the best fighters in the ufc’s middleweight division and one of the funniest and nicest guys ever….lister isnt very far from a title shot either so its not like okami is getting shafted thats his fault for training to hard..when a fighter gets injuried its his fault because its his body…tough……..lister by submission….lister is a great fighter and is easily in the top ten of the ufc middleweight division he has only lost to marquardt which was a close decsion
Okami should get through Lister with realitive ease…. then after that perhaps a Feb matchup with Silva for the title?? i do believe that Okami with a win here would get his over due match with Anderson Silva (after Silva beats Cote ofcourse), yet the way things have been going as of that when you are one win away from a title shot little things like getting ko’d happens or you lose a decision because perhaps you didnt take your oppenent seriously
fr702 i usually agree with you but on this one i have to say lister will detroy okami’s title dreams just like thiago alves did to karo..not by ko but by a submission in the second round
@Gun forsure we usually do agree, but I do believe Okami will win perhaps not with realitive as I first stated after time to rethink the situation…. I can respect your differing perspective and what u said may very well happen….
@Gun, Lister one of the best in the division, WOW. That’s strong.
Okami can’t finish himself off and between the two of them the majority of their fights end in decsion. That’s what I’m getting at.
As for the “fag” remark. Grow up. I won’t hold it against you that you have nothing original and a 5th grade mentality.
i would want to see bisbing vs okami seeing if they both win and the winner gets silva makes the most sense