Yoshihiro Akiyama: Why He Needs to Move to Welterweight

At UFC 133 we saw Vitor Belfort knockout Japanese sensation Yoshihiro Akiyama, aka "Sexyama." This fight had tons riding on it for both men. The winner of this would remain in an ok stance in the division, while the loser would end up dropping down the ladder in terms of rankings, and getting back towards the top of the ladder would be virtually impossible.

With the loss, Akiyama truthfully lost all hope of him working his way towards the top of the middleweight division. Many assumed with the loss that he would be cut, but he is heavily favored by management and it appears that they have a proposition for him so that he may remain with the company.

Dana White stated in interviews that he took part of with MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani and MMA Heat's Karyn Bryant that himself and Lorenzo Fertitta want Akiyama to drop to 170lbs. He stated that the cut would be easy for Akiyama, because he is a small middleweight. 

Dropping to welterweight would truly be interesting. The welterweight division is filled with wrestlers, and Akiyama has percentage wise the best take down defense in the UFC, but has yet to face any traditional wrestlers in the UFC. Pre-UFC, Akiyama faced his share of catch wrestlers in Japan, and was highly successful against them. 

Looking at this in a realistic mindset, Akiyama could be successful at welterweight, but his problems would occur when he faces the likes of a Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Jake Shields, Rick Story, etc. He has the tools to beat many of these guys, but if he cannot stuff the take down attempts it would not be a good run for him. 

It appears that in this situation that Akiyama decides his fate. If he decides to stay at middleweight, there is a high chance he would be cut and end up back fighting in Japan. If he drops to welterweight, there is that chance of him getting a guaranteed two fights, and his performance would decide his fate. 

Akiyama has tons of talent, now let's see if he makes the correct choice.