Tonight Last Stand of Japanese MMA?

The forum topic is definitely a little overly dramatic, but if Aoki and Kawajiri fail to impress, what say you all about the future of not only Japanese MMA, but Japanese fighters in Zuffa? Who else is there besides Okami? Akiyama certainly hasn't been doing well. 

Japanese fighters seem to get screwed over a lot, i'm sure Zuffa sees that. Aoki will look great tonight IMO.

Only others I can think of in the UFC Norifumi Yamamoto Takeya Mizugaki Michihiro Omigama Takanori Gomi

The guys cashbrewyn listed likely eill never make another run at a title.

@runrunshaw what do you mean get screwed over a lot?  With judging, or with the matchups they get put into?

It just seems like the Japanese MMA culture has been way too slow to evolve with the sport.

Seemingly no recognition of the proper way to build fighters and get them the right experience and as they get their careers started. Top prospects like Ishii are thrown to the wolves and have their confidence and marketability destroyed, when similar fighters in the U.S. are slowly picking up regional wins and learning to fight (see: Daniel Cormier).

Lack of weight cutting puts them at a disadvantage. Akiyama should have been at welterweight years ago. Kid Yamamoto should probably be a flyweight.  Omigawa waited way too long to get to featherweight.

And more of these guys need to have modern training experiences.  The sport is now predominantly fought in a cage. If a fighter wants to be successful, he/she needs to train in a cage, and train with world-class teams. The guys that come to the U.S. and train with elite gyms, like Okami, seem to do just fine.

@Gregory. Right on. Also watching them in Japan they seem explosive and exciting. Get them in the cage and they struggle with American Wrestling. I used to tell my friends who watch MMA from time to time. "You guys have to see this guy, he's awesome." It seems like every single time they let me down and I look like an idiot. 

Yup I've been burned a few times on my picks for Japanese fighters coming over for the first time. I might be wrong tonight on going with Peralta over Takaya, but I had to do it.

I predicted that Omigawa would beat Mendes but deep down i knew it wasnt gonna happen.

I did the same. It just bugs the **** out of me watching those guys all the time on HDnet, and having them sign and not perform. I just remember telling a friend, " oh, u got to see kid yo, he is a badass! " But anyway, u hit it on the head Greg.

I thought Riki ***uda looked pretty good against Nick Ring at UFC 127. Ring got the controversial decision but I thought ***uda won. Hatsu Hioki looks pretty good at LW ranked number 2 by USA Today.

Yup good ones, Digler. Though I'm concerned Hioki's style won't transfer over to the Zuffa world that well.  I'm a big Hioki fan so I hope I'm wrong.

Other than Okami's upcoming title shot and Aoki's win over Beerbohm, I can't think of any other Japanese fighters that have done anything to make them relevant in the standings lately.

I would really like to know what happened to Kid, since his name was brought into the mix here.  He truly is a bad ass, IMO.  Not just some guy from Japan who couldn't evolve for Western MMA.  I also couldn't see him as a fly weight, as he is pretty stout for the class he's fighting in now. 

***uda and Yamamoto both have bright futures, and I don't think Gomi is done.

Interesting that Dream just announced its Bantamweight Grand Prix today. Maybe they can begin to produce new talent again.

I was glad Melendez won, but I was also bummed that Kawajiri lost; I don't know, PRIDE FOREVER....

There Okami for his title shot. Sexyama is as sexy as ever, but he needs to win some fights. Kid can still win a few fights. Once more fighter from Japan adjust to the American cage they'll get better.

There Okami for his title shot. Sexyama is as sexy as ever, but he needs to win some fights. Kid can still win a few fights. Once more fighter from Japan adjust to the American cage they'll get better.

I really wanna see Hatsu Hioki in the ufc. im not going to assume he will be the best. He is a good fighter though. He has beaten Mark Hominick twice.