In a move that’s been talked about for quite sometime, Yoshihiro Akiyama is now set to make the move down to welterweight. The news comes via MMAFighting.com.
Akiyama last fought at UFC 133 where he was knocked out by Vitor Belfort in the first round. The loss was the third straight for the Japanese fighter, as he had previously dropped fights to Chris Leben and Michael Bisping. With a 1-3 UFC record, Akiyama hasn’t seen the same success he’d seen in Japan as he entered the UFC with a 12-1 MMA record.
In addition to his move to the welterweight division, Akiyama is also looking to train with UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre. It’s unclear of when or if the two will train together, but Akiyama does have a history of training with some of GSP’s coaches, as he’s spent time with Greg Jackson in the past. As for when he’ll make his debut, when speaking to the Japanese media outlet www.sponichi.co.jp, Akiyama stated that he would like to make his debut as a welterweight during the UFC’s return to Japan in February of 2012.
By George C. Mathews of BJPENN.COM MMA NEWS
- Follow me on Twitter @GMathewsMMA
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I hope they do train together. It’d be nice if Akiyama rubbed off on GSP a bit.
I agree, I dont want to see Akiyama leave the UFC. Hopefully he’ll learn some from GSP and win more
Did he get a new contract?
Well if he keeps his current figure and just cuts weight like the American/Brazilian fighters he’ll do fantastic. Cutting weight is a massive advantage
hes lucky he is such a big draw on the Japanese crowd
I think Akiyama will tear up in the ww division.
Who the hell doesn’t want to train with Georges?