Main Event – Wanderlei Silva vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama – UFC 116 Preview
On July 3, Wanderlei Silva and Yoshihiro Akiyama will square off at UFC 116. Looking back all the way to 6 or 8 UFC events ago, this fight has been rumored for ages. After all of the rumors, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the much anticipated middleweight bout will take place.
These two fighters will meet up with an opportunity to show everyone what they are about, although they have different paths in their past. UFC 116 odds favorite, Silva is an extremely experience mixed martial arts fighter. While losing just 10 matches, he has won 33 in his career. These numbers are impressive, but it is important to note that he has only managed a record of 3-5 in his career in the UFC. This level might be a bit overwhelming for him, this sort of success suggests. To his credit, many of his losses have been to solid fighters, but it is difficult to overlook a 3-5 record.
In a year, Akiyama has not fought and he will return to the sport well rested and healthy. Since March of 2005, he has not lost a fight and he sports a 13-1 career record in mixed martial arts fights. His late fight earned a “Fight of the Night” award and his return to the UFC has been anticipated after his decision win over Avan Belcher last July.
It is difficult to gauge where Akiyama is at with just one fight in the UFC, even though he has an impressive career record. For what we can expect from him in the future, this fight should be a good barometer.