UFC releases Yushin Okami

[Nova Union]

master trole 2014-1

 

[jthatdude]

Yes it is. It's a credibility loss.

Is it really? To the hardcores, yes but the casual fans have no clue who Okami is or what fighters are credible.

 

[IAfight]

Man, Okami has been a mainstay for ages. Just hearing that he's cut is so strange. I'm sure there are organizations ready to swoop him up. Business as usual in the UFC.

 

[ToxicShocker]

Personally, and not trying to fighter bash here but Okami always bored me. He was a decision fighter, even though his record said otherwise.

 

[Nova Union]

He's the only decent japanese fighter they had.

I guess Takeya Mizugaki isn't decent

 

[wellsdj1]

I agree. When it's all said and done he doesn't sell PPV's or puts butts in seats and his paycheck was not worth it to the UFC!

 

[GoodOleWrasslin]

I thought the UFC sent the message pretty loud and clear after the Fitch cut. First and foremost its a business and boring fighters are bad for business. Okami has a less than agreeable style from the casual fan's perspective. He has been in the UFC a long time and probably has a pretty sizable contract, i doubt he was bringing in more money than they were paying him. Very few people buy a card because he is on it.

Is he a legit top ten fighter? Absolutely. Is the UFC overly concerned with that? No. Look at Fitch, people had the same qualms about his release and now half a year later no one gives a fuck. It didn't undermine the UFC's credibility, no one can argue that the UFC's WW division doesn't have a monopoly on the best WW's in the world. The same is true for the UFC's MW division, outside of Okami now, all the best are there. They didn't really need Okami.

I think in true sherdog fashion people just want to be outraged. Im not shocked at all that this happened.

Now before some idiot tries to get all mad at me please make note that i have said nothing about how fair this is or isn't. I don't know that fair has really played a part in the UFC for some time now. All im saying is im not surprised, and you shouldn't be either. The precedent had already been set.

 

[SamuraiWhack]

Brian Stann needs to come out of retirement to fight Kennedy, soldier vs soldier.

 

[BJ@LW&WW]

There was a time when most fans cared far more about if you were actually one of the best fighters in the world (boring or not), and competed against the best fighters in the world, rather than being the new flavor that many young fans have taken a liking to.

for me since day 1. I doing give a fuck how boring anyone is. I just want to see what actually works and who's the best.

yea well, those were the times when dana white wasnt raking in the millions.

 

[jban]

well... that's what you get for a business owning a sport...

many of their decisions will be purely from the money aspect.

Zuffa is in the business to make money.

MMA is the product they chose to "sell".

They will try to make it marketable.

And when there's a conflict of interest, the money side will prevail.

Sad but true. An another reason why Diaz fought GSP coming off a loss, and Chael fought Jones coming off a loss against Anderson.

 

[CountOfSoCal]

are u slow?

Are you?

He was on a 3 fight win streak before his last loss. All of his losses (aside from Boestch) have been champions in one organization or another.

The fact he was cut, and Lombard (who he beat) hasn't been, is insane.

 

[Zlatan1]

Is it really? To the hardcores, yes but the casual fans have no clue who Okami is or what fighters are credible.

The casuals know 5% of the UFC's roster. So, should we cut the other 95%?

 

[MMAdict]

Anytime a top 5 guy is cut after a single loss, it's a bad cut. Regardless of if he wasn't a fan pleaser, the UFC is the business of having the best fight the best. Yushin is still one of the best.

 

[GoldenGloryFan]

Not really a loss, I mean it's not like he brought in the fans, it still won't sit right with the hardcore fans, the people that truly enjoy all aspects of this sport will see the immorality in this decision.

 

[ShreddinMMA]

I don't think comparing the NFL and MMA fighters compares that easily...especially considering Okami is still a top 10 MW and there is no salary cap in the UFC, which is what a lot of other NFL teams have to account for.

The UFC doesn't need to watch their money in the same way.

 

[Area809]

The people who care to watch Okami and Fitch fight, are the ones who post on these forums, because we love the sport and appreciate the different skill sets brought into the cage or ring. Now the rest of the world, which I think is the overwhelming majority, wants to see brawls, and highlight finishes all the time; if they don't see that, is considered a boring fight. That's why those type of guys will always be cut, because the majority of the paying public are casual fans, in my opinion

 

[SKITZADACTYL]

Is it really? To the hardcores, yes but the casual fans have no clue who Okami is or what fighters are credible.

fuck the casuals! FUCK EM

 

[GustavHolst**]

This is the first time I've legitimately :icon_sad:'d at a cut.

 

[Raul24]

Dana wants to turn the sport into a modern colyseum filled with gladiators willing to maul each other badly and forget about the technique and training in order to please insecure fans who just want to see blood and feel all ''macho'' watching that kind of violence while theyre to scared to throw a punch im a real fight

 

[js1083]

I wonder where all this "outrage" is coming from...never seen so many Okami "fans" in this forum...same thing happened when Fitch got cut.

Sometimes, I wonder if people are just looking for a reason to shit on Dana...like the op said, nobody will give a shit about Okami and Fitch in the near future and will be forgotten.