UFC releases Yushin Okami

[jban]

not in the exact same way but they still gotta save up money when they can. no one wants to watch okami in a ppv event. NO ONE

If you gotta save money when you can- why the heck is Leben (earning more money than Okami) still employed in the UFC after three losses (where he has looked terrible) and 4 losses out of 5? Okami earns $42,000 to show, yet Lombard (who makes $300,000) who has been a disappointment, is still around. If Zuffa wanted to save money- they could have released other fighters whose records are much more terrible than Okami's, and make way more than him. It was not about saving money. It is about Entertainment. Clearly, records and rankings are irrelevant to Zuffa and Dana.

 

[Elmero]

He was bad for the sport. His style made people flip channels and exciting fighters had to fight off his blanket style wrestling instead of putting on shows. Good riddens..him n fitch.

 

[ironfist05]

other sports don't have top ten rankings

this is up there with the torres and fitch cuts

 

[Kneeuinthenutz]

Of course not. He's only one of the best MW's in the world today, and has been ranked longer than just about everyone.

What really matters is that you're flashy and marketable.

Actually being one of the best takes a back seat in the premier fighting organization today.

 

[oceanlife**]

People seem to forget that this happens in all walks of life. Employees work for a company for years, but at the end of the day they can get laid off/fired and replaced at any moment. Welcome to reality!

 

[Jukai]

Fitch is different. He was 1-2-1, actively criticized the UFC, and was just another white guy with no following.

Okami 3-1 and arguably woulda been 4-0 if not for an eyes-closed-swinging-come-from-behind knock out, was a relatively good company man and had a big asian following.

When Fitch was cut, it was justifiable. This is mystifying.

 

[TM]

Okami was ranked 6th, 3-1 in his last 4 and he was cut. Unless he was asking for Jon Jones money or got caught robbing elderly there is no way this cut would make any sense.

 

[Towelie by TKO]

Or his contract expired, and he was coming off of a brutal KO loss so they offered to cut his pay and he didn't take it. Same thing happened to Werdum after JDS KO'd him.

 

[ethanfranklin]

A top 10 fighter that is at the end of his career... Most of the people complaining must know nothing about Football and other major sports......

Hes 32 bro.

And you cant compare cuts to individuals in team sports, to cuts to competitors in individual ones.

Imagine if the NFL cut the Green Bay Packers.

 

[Barret]

A threat? He may be a threat to guys like Alan Belcher but that's about it. They gave him a shot at the title, what more could the UFC have done?! I understand though that this gives people like you a reason to complain about the UFC....

So what a lot of guys are given a shot at the title and all crumbled into defeat by the Spider. Losing to the Spider is nothing to be ashamed of everyone gets their ass handed by that man.

Just like how no one has come close to beating Jon Jones too it still doesn't mean you go about cutting your Top LHW fighters.

He is still game going 3-1 is not bad as of recent.

 

[aorozco90]

He was bad for the sport. His style made people flip channels and exciting fighters had to fight off his blanket style wrestling instead of putting on shows. Good riddens..him n fitch.

If fighters don't want to get blanketed then they should get him the fuck off them, and stuff the takedown. It's like Trujillo bitching to the ref when Khabib put a clinic on his ass.

 

[oceanlife**]

Other sports cut expensive players to make room for up and comers and change rules to make games more exciting. This isn't something new or something just the UFC is doing

You seriously think the people on here that are complaining watch other sports?!

 

[Bulsebub**]

My guess is the UFC offered Okami the Munoz or the Kennedy fight and he probably said no, that is why he was fired.

For sure, dana (he is the front figure so yes) is an moron.
"if you take a fight on short notice and lose, you might get cut"

"Dont take a fight on short notice, we will get pissed at you and talk shit about you or even cut YOU"

 

[IRENICUS]

maybe, I do think there are some reasons we don't know about yet.
They wouldn't just cut a top 6 fighter just because he wasn't that exciting.
Okami is actually not that boring compared to Pierce for example.

 

[The AllKnowing1**]

So Okami who has been doing fairly well against his past few opponents until he got KOed by Jacare is cut. However they still keep Melvin guillard who was on a lose 2 win 1 then lose 2 again? And why is hector lombard still i then? he didnt live up to the hype that he was supposed to come in with. I mean hector was supposed to be the first guy to give anderson a run for his money and KO him.

Thoughts on this?

 

[Degen Gambler]

Yes it is. It's a credibility loss.

How? Say some guy works his way up the ladder to a title, are people going to say "well, he never had to beat Okami so he's not a real champion"?

 

[JayElectra]

 

[Raul24]

He said without reading my OP.

i did read your post, and you answered your question

everyone is outraged because yushin is a legit fighter and got cut because he's just not that exciting

in that case lets fire all the fighters and have Dana turn the sport into a modern colyseum and hire a bunch of thugs who just want to beat the crap out of each other till someone gets seriously mauled, if its all about the money, that will sell a lot.

 

[emax]

Your points would be fine if MMAMath worked.

Just because Okami can beat someone, doesn't mean they should never get a title shot. It's not like they HAVE to have a up and comer fight Okami. They can just schedule around him. Weidman hasn't beat Okami, so I guess Weidman must be a "stomp" fighter?

Boring fighters who make a lot of money but bring little to no fanbase will not have jobs with the UFC. It's that simple. It doesn't change the sport at all, especially with guys like Fitch and Okami who have had chances and failed.

How did Okami fail? He is 13-5 in the UFC overall? When did that become failing? And for that matter, how is Fitch's loss to a rapidly surging Maia "failing" as well?

 

[BJ@LW&WW]

It's not like the UFC was paying Okami millions. There's plenty wrong with a fighter of Okamis caliber getting cut from the biggest MMA organization with a monopoly over the market.

Most major team sports management is about getting the best team you can under the budget you can afford. That's not how things are in MMA. It's a shame that a fighter of Okamis caliber will no longer be able to compete against the top guys in his division. No MMA organization should be releasing a fighter of Okamis caliber for any reason other than pay and according to Dana, that wasn't the issue in making this decision.