UFC 134: 5 Reasons Yushin Okami Is Going to Finish What Chael Sonnen Started

Yushin Okami will beat Anderson Silva at UFC 134.

What goes through your mind after reading a statement like that?

While some have already hit the close button in the top right hand corner of their screens, others are left bewildered about how anyone could make logic out of such an unlikely event.

Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, Vitor Belfort, Nate Marquardt, Forrest Griffin, and Chael Sonnen all fell to "The Spider." Yet Silva, who is arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, is going to finally be defeated in his home country of Brazil by Okami?

The odds are certainly stacked against the Japanese grappler, but stylistically, there has never been a more dangerous fight for Silva in the UFC.

Still shaking your head at this driveling nonsense?

As always, snatch a cold beverage out the fridge and get ready to have your mind altered by intriguing points or slammed by more driveling nonsense.

Here are five reasons Yushin Okami is going to finish what Chael Sonnen started.

Wrestling

If there is one obvious weakness in Silva's nearly flawless game, it has to be his wrestling.

Sonnen put on a takedown clinic in his UFC 117 bout with Silva. The majority of his shots weren't even disguised that well, but he was still able to put Silva on the floor every time he shot in.

Sure, there was talk of Silva suffering from a preexisting rib injury heading into that bout, but Sonnen isn't the only man to take Silva down so effortlessly.

Dan Henderson, Nate Marquardt, and Travis Lutter have all put Silva on his back.

Silva's reasoning for his lack of offensive and defensive wrestling is likely due to his otherworldly striking and black belt level BJJ. He can outpoint just about any man alive on the feet, and if someone takes him down, he can attack from his back with sweeps and submissions.

This highly effective style is also shared by Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz. Even though he doesn't share Silva's striking prowess, he comes into every fight with pretty much the same game plan. He wants to outpoint his opponents on the feet, and if taken down, he relies on his superior BJJ.

What if the fighter is a strong wrestler with good submission defense?

Okami definitely has the wrestling chops to make Silva fight from his back for extended periods of time. If Silva is constantly taken down, it then becomes a question of whether or not he's able to score a spectacular knockout in those precious seconds he has standing or pull off a submission.

He doesn't get much credit for his submission skills, but Okami is a strong BJJ player.

Can Silva fend off a grappler of Okami's caliber?

Steady Demeanor

An often overlooked quality of Okami's is his steady demeanor.

We never see him rattled or roused by any extraneous circumstances. When Okami steps inside the octagon, he understands that he has a job to do.

He doesn't care about the boos or what the media is going to say. His ability to consistently stick to a game plan makes him a very dangerous opponent.

At UFC 82, Henderson had a great opportunity to dethrone Silva. In the first round, Henderson took the fight to the ground and dominated with stellar top control. Silva was in for a tough night if Henderson leaned on his wrestling throughout the entire bout.

In the second round, Henderson became too comfortable and attempted to engage Silva more in the standup exchanges. The decision to deviate from his game plan cost Henderson big time as Silva bested the exchanges and finished things off with a slick rear naked choke.

Sonnen is another prime example. After dominating Silva for four rounds of their championship bout at UFC 117, Sonnen became sloppy with his ground and pound in trying to finish the fight in the final round.

Some would applaud Sonnen's efforts for never taking his foot off the pedal, but applause isn't going to win you a world title. Instead, Sonnen found himself tapping to a triangle choke for the fourth time in his professional career.

The ability to drown out the boos and stick to what you're good at could be the most important tool in dealing with a guy like Silva.

Improved Striking

In his last three fights, Okami has shown dramatic improvements in his striking.

No, this doesn't mean he has suddenly acquired the ability to stand in front of one of the greatest standup artists this sport has ever seen.

It does mean that Okami has the ability to open up his game more with a combination of striking and wrestling to keep his opponents guessing.

To the surprise of fans, Sonnen found success on the feet at times in his bout with Silva. It wasn't because Sonnen was superior to Silva in that area of the fight. He was able to cast doubt in Silva's mind by constantly securing takedowns, which opened up opportunities on the feet in the later rounds.

The ability to disguise takedown attempts separates a good wrestler from a great one.

If a fighter comes out and telegraphs random takedown attempts, he would either eat a hard strike coming in or get constantly sprawled on. With standup combined with wrestling, the fighter can feint punches before he changes levels to keep his opponent guessing.

This was a huge part of Okami's strategy against Marquardt at UFC 122. His improved striking should open up more opportunities to either take Silva down or possibly even land some shots of his own on the feet.

Chael Sonnen in His Corner

What better asset to have in your corner than the man that came closer than anyone else to defeat Silva?

Having faced Silva once already, Okami has little insight into the new web of "The Spider." This isn't the same Anderson Silva from Rumble On The Rock 8.

Sonnen should be able to provide Okami with a fresh perspective on what he'll be up against. It'll be interesting to see if Okami adopts some of Sonnen's strategy.

Fighters tend to freeze in front of Silva and give him time to analyze their movement and go to work. Sonnen never gave Silva any time to think. He was always the aggressor throughout the entire fight.

We need to see the same aggression from Okami. While he has to avoid getting careless, Okami has to take control of the octagon and force Silva to his back with well-timed takedowns. It's a major advantage for Okami to have Sonnen in his corner.

They are both similar fighters, and Sonnen should be able bring out the best in Okami.

Stars Aligned

While Silva and hordes of fans entertain the thought of superfights, Okami waits quietly for his opportunity to shock the world.

Throughout his UFC tenure, the title shot has continuously eluded Okami. He will finally get his chance to be the first Japanese fighter ever to brandish UFC gold, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

Anderson Silva isn't the same fighter from Rumble On The Rock 8, but neither is Yushin Okami, who continues to evolve after every fight.

Okami isn't the most attractive underdog due to his quiet personality. There simply isn't that much hype leading up to this fight. Silva has even expressed his disinterest in facing Okami again.

As fans, we become lost sometimes in MMA math. Silva has already defeated opponents that have or could beat Okami, but the beauty of MMA is how contrasting styles make for a different challenge in every
fight.

Sonnen may be slightly a better wrestler than Okami, but he doesn't possess as good of submission defense. Belfort is far better than Okami on the feet, but his wrestling isn't nearly as strong to press Silva's weaknesses.

A new challenge awaits Silva as he looks to defend his UFC title for the ninth consecutive time, and fans have every right to pen him as the heavy favorite. It's hard not to. The guy has made upper-echelon fighters look like world class amateurs.

What better time for an upset than right now?

If Silva keeps fighting, he will eventually lose. The unpredictability of this sport continues to show us that
no man is invincible, and with Okami's style, it could show us once more.

Will Silva continue his march to all-time greatness, or will Okami shock the world by ending the longest title reign in UFC history?

Don't sleep on Yushin Okami.