How good is Yoshihiro Akiyama?

[Twc]

As the title states how good is Akiyama and what is/was his potential? Did he have the talent to be a champion in a major organization?

I always felt with his side projects modeling and acting that he never reached his full potential and had long gaps between fights, so long i thought he had retired after his 3 year layoff. That and he would move around and didn't really stay in the same place. He started off fighting out of Japan then he moved to Korea I believe because he had those shows with his daughter. He's on the Netflix show Physical 100 right now. Then he moved to Hawaii for a bit during the pandemic. There's gyms everywhere so he can train but I always wondered if he could be more.

Where does he have his training camps? Sherdog lists his camps as Team Cloud (the gym he started) and Jackson Wink though I don't think he trained there long. Team Cloud has no other notable fighters I can see. Does he have quality training and sparring partners?

He's shown skills in his fights with his takedown defense against Jake Shields, he got out struck. He lost to Chris Leben but he was winning the fight until he gassed and got subbed. He got KOed by TRT Vitor, no shame in that.

Physically he takes care of his body and seems to always be in shape (though maybe not cardio wise as he has gassed in fights). He has power and KOed Sherif Mohamed and a smaller Shinya Aoki at the age of 46. If MMA was his main focus do you think he could've been a champion in a major organization? He probably makes more money with all of these other endeavors.

 

[Doctor Grudge]

I dont think his netflix show had much to do with his progress 10+ years ago.

Could he be champion of a major org? Yeah, of course - if they want him to be one. A japanese org could create a MW belt for him to hold.

Based on what he did is there a realistic reason to think he'd ever be like one of the very best at MW? Top ten MW of all time? Current Bellator champ? Current UFC champ? (without them wanting him to be one like with Alex lol). Not really, even Bisping basically got pushed to his belt and he was a bit better than Akiyama.

He was like a top 15 type of fighter. He also looked small.

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

Yea he easily could have but the timing was a little too late. He lost a lot of support in japan after greasing sakuraba. got more popular in korea. came to the UFC a little too late. had bullshit decisions against him like shields and bisping IMO. thought he won those for sure. just glad he's still doing it and got to demolish aoki. that was awesome to watch.

 

[thecoldbloodedone]

He is in a funny spot with fans, as he is Japanese born but due to Korean heritage was not able to get Japanese citizenship until AFTER he went to the Olympics for Judo. (yes he was forced to wear a Korean flag only.)
He is obviously fluent in both languages and cultures, is married to a Japanese lady, fights under his Japanese name but is also a star on Korean TV.

 

[Bluesbreaker]

An extremely talented fighter. He shit the bed a couple of times and showed some bad cardio.

From memory, he out-struck Belcher, but let Shields touch him repeatedly because they were little girl strikes.

If the stars aligned, he could have been a major org's champion.

 

[Twc]

I dont think his netflix show had much to do with his progress 10+ years ago.

Could he be champion of a major org? Yeah, of course - if they want him to be one. A japanese org could create a MW belt for him to hold.

Based on what he did is there a realistic reason to think he'd ever be like one of the very best at MW? Top ten MW of all time? Current Bellator champ? Current UFC champ? (without them wanting him to be one like with Alex lol). Not really, even Bisping basically got pushed to his belt and he was a bit better than Akiyama.

He was like a top 15 type of fighter. He also looked small.

I wasn't just talking about the Netflix show affecting his progress 10 years ago, he was on Korean television shows and movies and modeling over the past 15+ years. I just didn't see him (I could be wrong) being like a lot of other fighters who put their full focus into MMA and train every day.

Thanks for the analysis, I agree about his skills. I thought he could be better if he was fully dedicated to MMA but with a ceiling of maybe the outer parts of top 10 all time, which he isn't as is. He's 47 (looks damn good for his age) and would no way be a current UFC or Bellator champ and I agree that Bisping is a little better but he was known to be committed to his craft.

I felt size was an issue with pretty much all the Japanese fighters (outside of maybe Yushin Okami) when fighting in UFC/Bellator, probably because they never grew up wrestling and cutting weight?

 

[Doctor Grudge]

I wasn't just talking about the Netflix show affecting his progress 10 years ago, he was on Korean television shows and movies and modeling over the past 15+ years. I just didn't see him (I could be wrong) being like a lot of other fighters who put their full focus into MMA and train every day.

Thanks for the analysis, I agree about his skills. I thought he could be better if he was fully dedicated to MMA but with a ceiling of maybe the outer parts of top 10 all time, which he isn't as is. He's 47 (looks damn good for his age) and would no way be a current UFC or Bellator champ and I agree that Bisping is a little better but he was known to be committed to his craft.

I felt size was an issue with pretty much all the Japanese fighters (outside of maybe Yushin Okami) when fighting in UFC/Bellator, probably because they never grew up wrestling and cutting weight?

Well, wrestling and other grappling sports exist in Japan and they perform at a high level. They understand cutting weight they just aren't doing it lol, especially back when Akiyama was in his prime.

The fighters from Japan are just not very professional. They don't treat it that seriously, they look at it more like just two guys fighting I think. A lot of machismo involved. Out dated training methods both for technique and conditioning. Poor match selection, their younger fighters get derailed by veteran journeymen or they'll go to USA and fight some absolute killer. Lack of respect for cutting weight (let's call it poor diet to simplify it).

MMA came from Japanese Pro Wrestling so I think the JMMA scene has never really gotten away from that. It's just a show, no real prestige in it from their perspective. That's why the titles mean so little, even in PRIDE they did not mean much.

Japan is THE martial arts country. They have so many different martial arts and combat sports it is ridiculous. MMA is just lost in the shuffle for them. They have the infrastructure to set up some epic prospects but that's just not in anyone's interest at the moment it seems, at least no one rich enough to get the job done.

They've done a nice job with reviving kickboxing and building a great foundation for it. If they do the same for MMA they'll be right up there with some of the "power" countries.

 

[Yrat]

As the title states how good is Akiyama and what is/was his potential? Did he have the talent to be a champion in a major organization?

I always felt with his side projects modeling and acting that he never reached his full potential and had long gaps between fights, so long i thought he had retired after his 3 year layoff. That and he would move around and didn't really stay in the same place. He started off fighting out of Japan then he moved to Korea I believe because he had those shows with his daughter. He's on the Netflix show Physical 100 right now. Then he moved to Hawaii for a bit during the pandemic. There's gyms everywhere so he can train but I always wondered if he could be more.

Where does he have his training camps? Sherdog lists his camps as Team Cloud (the gym he started) and Jackson Wink though I don't think he trained there long. Team Cloud has no other notable fighters I can see. Does he have quality training and sparring partners?

He's shown skills in his fights with his takedown defense against Jake Shields, he got out struck. He lost to Chris Leben but he was winning the fight until he gassed and got subbed. He got KOed by TRT Vitor, no shame in that.

Physically he takes care of his body and seems to always be in shape (though maybe not cardio wise as he has gassed in fights). He has power and KOed Sherif Mohamed and a smaller Shinya Aoki at the age of 46. If MMA was his main focus do you think he could've been a champion in a major organization? He probably makes more money with all of these other endeavors.

He did ok in ufc

 

[J-Pac]

Very good fighter, just outside the elite of the elite during his prime. Always loses to the top 3 or top 5 but a tough guy who was always game. Somewhere between gatekeeper and title threat.

 

[BB in Crazy!!!!]

Very good fighter, just outside the elite of the elite during his prime. Always loses to the top 3 or top 5 but a tough guy who was always game. Somewhere between gatekeeper and title threat.

Pretty much this. Perfect guy to fight if you wanted to prove you were a top ten guy and possibly collect a fight of the night award at the same time.

 

[BB in Crazy!!!!]

If he had better cardio he would have beat both Leben and Bisping. Both fights he was winning until he gassed badly. Still blows my mind he lost to Shields, he defended the only real threat Shields had but didn't take advantage of his own advantage in striking.

 

[panem-et-circenses]

He was a decent fighter. Championship level? No, I don’t think he’s a ‘what if’ fighter, especially given the opportunities he had.

After his Olympic dream ended, and he transitioned to MMA, it was clear he was going to have problems. Not unlike other judokas, Akiyama was stiff on the feet, couldn’t get the control time off of offensive grappling, and didn’t have the best cardio. LeBanner essentially stood up after getting taken down by Akiyama, and then brutally KO’d him. FEG saw that he was a ratings draw (he really was) but lacked the skills, therefore they gave him a bunch of easy fights outside of two or three.

In the UFC, the weaknesses started to show a lot more than during the K-1/DREAM years. You could make the case that he lost every single fight in the UFC outside of Amir. He just wasn’t that good.

Add to all of this the speculation that he was considered a drug cheat, cheated by greasing, and got prime placement because of his ability to promote (not hating), and you realize that he made an impact whilst not having the goods (his record is mostly made up of regional fighters who were brought in to lose against him).

His greatest moment was embarrassing Aoki, though. Good build-up to an ultimate beatdown.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

He was very skilled but spent most of his career at MW when he probably should have been at WW. If he had gone to WW sooner he would have been one of the best WWs in the world but he dropped to WW years too late.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

If he had better cardio he would have beat both Leben and Bisping. Both fights he was winning until he gassed badly. Still blows my mind he lost to Shields, he defended the only real threat Shields had but didn't take advantage of his own advantage in striking.

Same thing happened with Woodley against Shields, they were able to stop the takedowns but they were so preoccupied with that which allowed Shields to out point them with his flailing strikes.

 

[panem-et-circenses]

If he had gone to WW sooner he would have been one of the best WWs in the world but he dropped to WW years too late.

What year and in what promotion? Certainly not in the UFC during the GSP era.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

What year and in what promotion? Certainly not in the UFC during the GSP era.

Probably about 5-7 years before he dropped to WW and yes he still would have been one of the best even with GSP around. I don't think you read my post correctly though cause you seem to think I said he would be champ over GSP which I didn't.

He could have been champ at WW in Strikeforce or EliteXC if he fought at WW around 5-7 years sooner.

 

[panem-et-circenses]

Probably about 5-7 years before he dropped to WW and yes he still would have been one of the best even with GSP around. I don't think you read my post correctly though cause you seem to think I said he would be champ over GSP which I didn't.

He could have been champ at WW in Strikeforce or EliteXC if he fought at WW around 5-7 years sooner.

I don’t think he beats Tarec, Nick Diaz or Marquardt. And he already lost to Jake. DREAM, which was popular because of tournaments, had two champions at middleweight and welterweight (I looked it up): Mousasi and Zaromskis.

If he beats Zaromskis in those days, does anyone care today?

The point is, Aliyama might’ve been fringe top ten, but he was never going to become champion unless he stays with FEG and gets an easy fight.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

I don’t think he beats Tarec, Nick Diaz or Marquardt. And he already lost to Jake. DREAM, which was popular because of tournaments, had two champions at middleweight and welterweight (I looked it up): Mousasi and Zaromskis.

If he beats Zaromskis in those days, does anyone care today?

The point is, Aliyama might’ve been fringe top ten, but he was never going to become champion unless he stays with FEG and gets an easy fight.

He lost to Shields way after the time frame I'm talking about, the fight was also close and I could see him winning a decision over Nick or Shields between 2005-2008 at WW. Marquardt and Teric werent champs in Strikeforce till years after the time frame I'm talking about as well.

2005-2008 he could have been champ in Strikeforce or EliteXC at WW IMO, not saying it would be a given that he would be but he would have a good shot at either belt in that time frame. He was declining for a few years already by the time he dropped to WW.

 

[panem-et-circenses]

He lost to Shields way after the time frame I'm talking about and I could see him winning a decision over Nick. Marquardt wasn't champ in Strikeforce till after the time frame I'm talking about as well. 2005-2008 he could have been champ in Strikeforce or EliteXC at WW IMO, not saying it would be a given that he would be but he would have a good shot at either belt in that time frame. He was declining for a few years already by the time he dropped to WW.

I just don’t see it. I think he loses most of his fights against top ten Hughes era welterweights. We’re talking about a time period where Akiyama lost to LeBanner, fought a bunch of below mediocre fighters, beat Kang (mattered then, matters a lot less in hindsight), beat Melvin, cheated against Saku, and had a loss overturned. Top five UFC welterweights punk him from 2005 to 2008.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

I just don’t see it. I think he loses most of his fights against top ten Hughes era welterweights. We’re talking about a time period where Akiyama lost to LeBanner, fought a bunch of below mediocre fighters, beat Kang (mattered then, matters a lot less in hindsight), beat Melvin, cheated against Saku, and had a loss overturned. Top five UFC welterweights punk him from 2005 to 2008.

LeBanner is a HW and we are talking about a guy that should have been at WW, your perspective seems off. Dennis Kang was a beast at the time that Akiyama beat him, Kang later declining takes nothing away from that win IMO.

Akiyama had a close fight with Shields years later at WW when he had declined a lot, not sure why you think he couldn't beat him when he was younger and better and I'm a big fan of Nick but he never had good TDD and I can see Akiyama beating him similarly to how Karo and Diego did.