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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Yushin Okami won his third straight fight in the UFC on Saturday, defeating Hector Lombard in Japan by decision. After the event, Okami was asked who he'd like to fight next, and he threw out the name of British middleweight Michael Bisping.
The longtime UFC veteran, winner of The Ultimate Fighter's third season in 2006, will try to bounce back from a loss to Vitor Belfort when he takes on Alan Belcher this April. But this weekend, he was serving as a guest analyst on Fuel TV's post-fight show, and was able to respond to Okami's call-out in quick fashion.
"Join the back of the line is all I'm going to say," Bisping responded. "Everyone seems to call me out at the moment and I'm happy with that, it means I'm going to have a job for a long, long time."
Penick's Analysis: Bisping probably doesn't have much interest in a fight with Okami, but he's right that the more callouts he has the more the UFC's going to book him regardless of the outcomes. He needs a win over Belcher to get himself back, because the Belfort loss was a major setback. But taking a fight with Okami afterward may not be the best option from a risk/reward standpoint. Okami's not known for thrilling and exciting fights, and that's something Bisping would rather be involved in at this stage of his career. The last thing anyone wants to take in the UFC right now is a risky fight against a "boring" opponent.
[Michael Bisping art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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