UFC
UFC 122 RESULTS: Yushin Okami defeats Nate Marquardt in Germany, finally earns UFC Middleweight Title shot
Nov 14, 2010 - 12:06:07 AM UFC 122 RESULTS: Yushin Okami defeats Nate Marquardt in Germany, finally earns UFC Middleweight Title shot

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Yushin Okami will finally get a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Often considered one of the best middleweights in the world, Okami's path to a shot has been slow moving to do the perception of him as a "boring" fighter. But at UFC 122, Okami defeated Nate Marquardt by decision in a #1 contender's fight, and he'll face the winner of the Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort bout at UFC 126 in February.

In a close bout that was fairly even throughout, Okami edged Marquardt out on all of the judges scorecards, earning scores of 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27.

The first round was a close back and forth affair, but Okami edged it when Marquardt took a risk by dropping to guard with a guillotine attempt. He gave up position with that attempt, and Okami was able to take the positional advantage for much of the rest of the round.

Marquardt took the second round on two of the judges scorecards, although there wasn't a whole lot of action to the round. Marquardt edged it with a nice trip takedown and a late right hand punch that did the most damage of the round.

The third was another close one, with both fighters landing punches in the round and Marquardt scoring a takedown, but Okami pressed the pace throughout the round and continually had Marquardt on the defensive.

If Okami's title fight happens to come against Silva, it will be a rematch of the last loss on Silva's record. The fight happened at a Rumble on the Rock event in Hawaii in January of 2006, and Okami won the bout after being hit by an illegal upkick from Silva while on his knees in Silva's guard.

For now, he will simply wait to see who he'll face in mid-2011, and he'll be ready to bring the "Thunder" against either opponent in his first ever title shot.

Penick's Analysis: This was a disappointing performance from Marquardt. He's been an aggressive and violent finisher in a number of fights recently, and that was completely absent in this fight. Of course, credit is due to Okami for keeping Marquardt off his game and forcing him to fight at his pace. I can't see Okami giving Anderson or Vitor much at this point, but I was wrong about him in this fight and we'll just have to wait to see what he can do in 2011. At least he's finally going to get his chance, and this was a good enough performance to finally earn him that right.