It's Sexy Time: Yoshihiro Akiyama Returns at UFC 116

Yoshihiro Akiyama will once again traverse the Pacific Ocean and descend on the United States to make his second journey inside the octagon under the UFC banner for Saturday’s UFC 116 event.  

“Sexyama” is headed back to where it all began. The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Well, certainly in one respect. The first time he sat cageside at a live UFC event was at the MGM in November 2008 for UFC 91. He looked on that evening as Brock Lesnar defeated Randy Couture to capture the heavyweight crown.

His comfort level was adequate amidst new surroundings and confirmed by the simple fact that roughly three months later the UFC officially announced they had signed the Japanese-Korean middleweight star. His first bout was scheduled for UFC 100 in July 2009 against upstart Alan Belcher.

It would be a memorable inaugural debut that began with a lengthy, but grandiose entrance. With Andrea Bocelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye” blaring through the arena speakers Akiyama emerged from the catacombs of the Mandalay Events Center flanked by his cornermen. Once they entered the arena they collectively paused, dropped to their knees in a diamond formation, and performed a synchronized prayer before standing and continuing their trek towards the fighter prep point.

It was quite the spectacle. After all, it’s not everyday a Japanese MMA star goes out of his way to challenge himself abroad and make that sort of moment a reality.

The actual fight would arguably be as memorable as the arrival. It was fifteen minutes of back and forth action. There was no doubt it would be a close decision. After the judge’s scorecards were tallied they read as follows: 30-27 Akiyama from Adalaide Byrd, 29-28 Belcher from Douglas Crosby, and 29-28 Akiyama from Patricia Morse Gorman. The split decision went to Akiyama. As his name was announced as the winner he embraced teammate Caol Uno and fell onto his back overwhelmed with emotion.

The performance, however, would be overshadowed by a number of high profile matchups that followed including Dan Henderson’s highlight reel knockout of Michael Bisping, Georges St. Pierre’s wrestling clinic on Thiago Alves, and Brock Lesnar’s throttling of Frank Mir in the main event and subsequent post-fight antics.

By the time the night was finished the Akiyama/Belcher fight seemed somewhere in the dust as a distant memory. The UFC, however, did not let it slip their minds and rewarded both men for their efforts with ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus checks.

Akiyama also earned an appointment with an ophthalmologist after sustaining damage to his left eye in the fight. It was later confirmed that his left orbital bone was fractured.

In October 2009, to prepare for his next fight Akiyama decided to switch up his training a bit to fine tune his overall striking arsenal. He sought out Shawn Tompkins at Xtreme Couture in Sin City. He then returned home to Osaka, Japan and his Team Cloud gym. There, under the watchful eye of head trainer and boxing coach Takeshi Yamada, he would begin his preparations for a rumored UFC 110 fight in February 2010 against Wanderlei Silva in Australia.

On the surface it seemed perfect. It would pit the Japanese superstar Akiyama against the man who ruled the PRIDE middleweight division for years in the Land of the Rising Sun as arguably their most exciting fighter. It’s the type of matchup that would garner attention on both the Eastern and Western bookends of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

North American fans would recognize the potential title implications and be drawn to it due to its promotional backing as a co-main event feature. For obvious reasons it would also perk the ear of Japanese MMA fans, even the most casual in nature.

For unknown reasons the UFC determined behind closed doors that it was not meant to be. They elected instead to put Michael Bisping in front of Silva at UFC 110. Silva would go on to record a unanimous decision victory in a highly competitive affair. Consequently, this allowed the UFC to re-book the Akiyama/Silva fight for UFC 116.

That was until Silva was forced to pull out of the fight due to a host of injuries sustained in training. Chris Leben, who recently fought and defeated Aaron Simpson via TKO at The Ultimate Fighter finale on June 19, agreed to fill in on short notice.

Since the opponent swap Akiyama has been on a bit of a public emotional roller coaster. He’s wavered from pulling out of the fight altogether, to being lukewarm, to ultimately signing off on the fight once and for all and the UFC announcing on June 25 the fight was green lit.

The back and forth is understandable. Frankly, the negatives appear to outweigh the positives. The southpaw Leben presents a difficult challenge on short notice due to his tendency to lull opponents into a brawling style and incorporate reckless abandon. He’s also a southpaw and Akiyama was training for an orthodox fighter in Silva.

Akiyama also has the additional pressure from his homeland to perform well in the United States, especially since high profile Japanese stars are few and far between these days. He’s expected to excel stateside in the UFC shark tank. A recent embarrassing performance by Japanese lightweight star Shinya Aoki in his first fight in the United States against Gilbert Melendez is still fresh in the minds of many.

Conversely, there are also a few reasons for Akiyama to have an optimistic outlook. First of all, agreeing to stay on the card will allow him to log some much needed cage time as his last fight at UFC 100 was roughly one year ago. There is no legitimate substitute in training for an actual fight.

From a stylistic perspective, he has fought southpaws before in his career. He also trains with them on a regular basis. Fellow UFC middleweight competitor Yushin Okami has been one of his teammates for some time now and has also been preparing for his upcoming fight against Mark Munoz in August.

Furthermore, despite being an undersized middleweight, Akiyama will have a 4 ½” reach advantage on Leben based on measurements taken for each man’s last fight. Leben also has a tendency to loop his punches. The combination of the two factors means that Akiyama is likely to connect first in an exchange, and with more precision.

The cerebral approach for Akiyama would be to minimize as much risk as possible. In other words, avoid getting baited into wild exchanges and playing Leben’s game. To amplify his chances Akiyama needs to dictate the nature, pace, and location of the fight as soon as the opening bell sounds.

This will likely involve using his hands to cut down the distance, showcasing his world class judo to pressure and test Leben’s takedown defense and situate him on his back. From top control he can then proceed to try to transition into favorable positions in order to attempt submissions.

Over half (7 of 13) of Akiyama’s career wins have come via submission, but you wouldn’t get that impression if you’ve only seen the Belcher fight.

Leben, on the other hand, has been submitted twice before in his career. One of which was courtesy of Jake Rosholt, who certainly has not yet achieved the submission proficiency Akiyama possesses up to this point in his young career.

A victory over Leben would ratchet Akiyama up another rung on the ladder and likely leave him one more victory away from securing his spot in an unofficial No. 1 contender match. Behind current champion Anderson Silva, No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen, and Vitor Belfort the 185-pound division is essentially wide open.

One must not overlook the task at hand, however, as a tattooed and anxious “Crippler” is waiting in the wings with a sly grin on his face ready to give the Las Vegas crowd their money’s worth.

Have the popcorn ready. It is destined to be a sexy quarrel, indeed.

Derek Bolender is a lead MMA writer for BleacherReport.com. Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.