It was announced that verbal agreements are in order to pit Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-4-2NC), against former title contender Jake Shields (26-6-1).
While both fighters are currently in the midst of the longest losing streaks of their careers, I feel this bout is more dangerous for Akiyama than it is for Shields. Coming off of three straight losses at Middleweight, the last by way of vicious knockout courtesy of Vitor Belfort at UFC 133, Akiyama is making the cut to 170lbs. for the first time in his career and an opponent of Shields caliber is not who I expected Akiyama to face in his Welterweight debut.
There are many factors which could go wrong when cutting an extra 15 pounds and to be honest, I expected the UFC to give Akiyama a warmup fight to test the Welterweight waters and get back on track in his homeland.
Since his debut in the UFC back in July 2009 at UFC 100, Akiyama has been known to have a cardio problem and usually gasses before the start of the third round. His lack of a gas tank has cost him fights against Michael Bisping and especially Chris Leben whom he was on the verge of beating before he got tired and made a mistake, getting caught in a triangle choke where he was so exhausted he had no choice but to tap with only 20 seconds remaining.
Now we are asking Akiyama to shed an additional 15lbs. which will more then likely hinder his gas tank even more. First time weight cuts are notorious for draining fighters, causing them to have less then stellar performances and horrendous cardio. For an already shaky Akiyama, I do not expect him to have a good night.
Unfortunately, I do not think this is a good matchup whatsoever for the Japanese superstar and see Jake Shields getting back to his winning ways February 26th.
Despite losing back to back times for the first time in his MMA career, Shields is still a highly dangerous fighter and a former multiple time champion.
Shields other loss was to Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre back in April. Regardless of the fact that he did not beat the champion, Shields still gave St. Pierre the best fight of his life and even managed to take a couple of rounds from the champion, which no one had been able to do for years.
Competing at both Middleweight and Welterweight, Shields has beaten a whose-who of MMA competitors with victories over former champion and MMA legend Dan Henderson, as well as top competition like Martin Kampmann, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Paul Daley, Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit, Mike Pyle and Robbie Lawler.
Shields time as a Middleweight is another reason I fear for Akiyama. The one advantage I would give Akiyama heading into this fight, would be size and strength but since Shields has already competed at Middleweight he will already be educated on how to deal with the issue, thus negating it. In fact, Shields was able to handle Dan Henderson who competes at Light Heavyweight and who is a much physically stronger and imposing fighter than Akiyama.
As much as I would love to see Akiyama return to glory and be victorious in his homeland, as he is one of my favorite fighters to watch due to his exciting stye, I see do not see a way in which it is possible. The weight cut alone is enough to turn me away, but add in the intangible of how strong Shields wrestling is and by all indications it points towards Akiyama's forth consecutive lost.
UFC 144, is headlined by Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar defending his title against the recently named number one contender and former WEC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson. Also rumored to be competing on the card is former Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and takes place February 26th in the UFC's return to the Land of the Rising Sun for the first time since 2000.
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