Rumor: Yushin Okami vs. Jason MacDonald
Recent rumors indicate top middleweights Yushin Okami and Jason MacDonald will face off later this year. Although no specific event has been mentioned, UFC 77, which already features a middleweight title fight between Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin and a middleweight bout between Kalib Starnes and Alan Belcher, is a likely possibility.
Despite coming off of a unanimous decision loss to Rich Franklin, Okami remains a top middleweight contender in a weak division going 4-1 in his 5 career UFC fights. Okami defeated Belcher, Starnes, Rory Singer, and Mike Swick before falling to Franklin in the main event of UFC 72.
MacDonald debuted in late 2006 defeating Ed Herman at UFC: The Final Chapter by triangle choke. MacDonald defeated Chris Leben at UFC 66 by submission to earn a matchup with Franklin at UFC 68. MacDonald was mismatched in the fight losing by TKO following the second round after his corner called for a stop to the fight. MacDonald looked impressive in his return bout at UFC 72 defeating Rory Singer by TKO in the second round.
Although title shots are never guaranteed in the UFC this match pits two of the UFC’s current top middleweights against one another in a fight that will likely earn them a title shot against Franklin or Silva pending their UFC 77 bout. Martin Kampmann, another top middleweight who has yet to be defeated in the UFC, will not return from a knee injury until early-2008 removing him from the current list of contenders to challenge for the middleweight championship.
Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for more information on this rumored bout as it becomes available.
Tags: Jason MacDonald, Yushin Okami
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[...] vs. Macdonald? Rumor: Yushin Okami vs. Jason MacDonald | UFC Daily It says it would take place at UFC 77 then it also says Martin Kampmann probably won’t return [...]
[...] him from the current list of contenders to challenge for the middleweight championship. Source: Rumor: Yushin Okami vs. Jason MacDonald | UFC Daily They are both tough matches for each other.. Both Big MW with great ground game and submissions.. [...]
This would be a good fight. Presuming Terry Martin KO's Leben, he should be up there for a title shot.
Martin is a powerhouse at 185 lbs. and 1 of the few bright stars of that 185 weight class. I think Martin has a good chance of beating anyone at 185. He KO'ed Rivera in 13 seconds anf them made Ivan Salaverry look like he should retire.
[...] on October’s UFC 77 card in Cincinnati according to the Fight Network. Earlier this month we broke the news that MacDonald may face Okami on the Cincinnati card with the recent report serving as further [...]