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[Masscore]

This isn't about Akiyama being scared, its about risk/reward:

With Wandy:
Win - Jump into title contention and only need one more win or so to get a title shot.
Lose - Not that big of a deal because its Wandy. Wandy is a god damn legend and there is no shame in losing to him.

With Leben:
Win - It does nothing because even casual UFC fans know Leben isn't that good. You don't improve in the rankings and you are not any closer to your goal.
Lose - Be prepared to be cut or on the prelim of the next Ultimate Fight Night Card. Also be prepared to lose a lot of money.

You see the difference.

[IceCold48]

hmm...this doesnt surprise me i mean he looked like this in his last interview

[vegas bushido]

Originally Posted by Masscore

This isn't about Akiyama being scared, its about risk/reward:

With Wandy:
Win - Jump into title contention and only need one more win or so to get a title shot.
Lose - Not that big of a deal because its Wandy. Wandy is a god damn legend and there is no shame in losing to him.

With Leben:
Win - It does nothing because even casual UFC fans know Leben isn't that good. You don't improve in the rankings and you are not any closer to your goal.
Lose - Be prepared to be cut or on the prelim of the next Ultimate Fight Night Card. Also be prepared to lose a lot of money.

You see the difference.

Or he can refuse the fight and not get paid sponsor money, fight money and a possible win bonus plus sit on the shelf for another 4 months. I don't think there are a lot of UFC fans that know who Akiyama is or give a shit if hes gone. As far as I'm concerned, he is 0-1 in the octagon and has zero chance for success among the top of the division.

[Bloodbeard]

Originally Posted by Nate_Deezy

First of all, Akiyama is nowhere near "the summit" of the middleweight division in the UFC. He is not a top 10 fighter in his division and poses absolutely no threat to Anderson Silva. Anyone who thinks he does needs to see a doctor.

Secondly, he should be jumping for joy that the UFC DID find him a sufficient replacement on such short notice. It's not like when Forrest pulled out against Rogerio and they replaced him with Jason Brilz (granted he made that one a fight). Chris Leben is a big time name in North America and to UFC fans specifically. And North American fans should be the ones he is trying to impress anyway. Everyone in Japan already knows what he's got, but in America he is a no name at this point. Beating Leben would be huge for his UFC career.

I'm not going to be as diplomatic as some of the people here. I'm calling Akiyama out on this one. He's nervous that he will get KTFO and comes across as a coward in this situation imo.

Yeah remember when Rogerio took that fight against someone most people thought he would beat easily to please the UFC and make some monies... sure they made a great fight but Rogerio almost lost and his image as the next big thing has been completely destroyed. lol. Maybe we just have a difference of opinion but I feel like winning is important. What if Akiyama's gameplan was to grapple with WSilva and had been training grappling for like 8months... now he has to fight Leben who he won't even be able to take down. Just a thought.

[Masscore]

Originally Posted by vegas bushido

Or he can refuse the fight and not get paid sponsor money, fight money and a possible win bonus plus sit on the shelf for another 4 months. I don't think there are a lot of UFC fans that know who Akiyama is or give a shit if hes gone. As far as I'm concerned, he is 0-1 in the octagon and has zero chance for success among the top of the division.

I understand that, I just think its crazy for people to call him a chicken or a pussy. I mean he was about to fight Wandy for crying out loud. How on earth can you not be scared of Wandy, but be scared of Leben? Wandy is the reason why Japanese fighters all over the world wake up with a cold sweat in the middle of the night. Leben is a reason to change the channel.

[vegas bushido]

Originally Posted by Masscore

I understand that, I just think its crazy for people to call him a chicken or a pussy. I mean he was about to fight Wandy for crying out loud. How on earth can you not be scared of Wandy, but be scared of Leben? Wandy is the reason why Japanese fighters all over the world wake up with a cold sweat in the middle of the night. Leben is a reason to change the channel.

Thats understandable but at the end of the day fighters get paid to fight. I don't understand why Akiyama doesn't think it would be a great highlight on his resume to dismantle Leben? To each their own I guess.

[The Return Of......]

Originally Posted by Nate_Deezy

First of all, Akiyama is nowhere near "the summit" of the middleweight division in the UFC. He is not a top 10 fighter in his division and poses absolutely no threat to Anderson Silva. Anyone who thinks he does needs to see a doctor.

Secondly, he should be jumping for joy that the UFC DID find him a sufficient replacement on such short notice. It's not like when Forrest pulled out against Rogerio and they replaced him with Jason Brilz (granted he made that one a fight). Chris Leben is a big time name in North America and to UFC fans specifically. And North American fans should be the ones he is trying to impress anyway. Everyone in Japan already knows what he's got, but in America he is a no name at this point. Beating Leben would be huge for his UFC career.

I'm not going to be as diplomatic as some of the people here. I'm calling Akiyama out on this one. He's nervous that he will get KTFO and comes across as a coward in this situation imo.

^^^^^^ this.

thanks for saving me the time of typing it

[TheKidInside]

Originally Posted by Bloodbeard

Yeah remember when Rogerio took that fight against someone most people thought he would beat easily to please the UFC and make some monies... sure they made a great fight but Rogerio almost lost and his image as the next big thing has been completely destroyed. lol. Maybe we just have a difference of opinion but I feel like winning is important. What if Akiyama's gameplan was to grapple with WSilva and had been training grappling for like 8months... now he has to fight Leben who he won't even be able to take down. Just a thought.

That was a different f-ing opponent stylistically dammit!!! Forrest is more of a stand up guy, he MAY take Rogerio down for points and that's a big MAY BE. Brilz who is a wrestler not only outwrestled but also out grappled Lil Nog AND out struck him!

Neither Wandy nor Leben are going to take down Akiyama, they are NOT going to grapple him if they get taken down and will only attempt to get back to the feet / keep the fight standing...

He is in no position no dictate who he fights and where after narrowly defeating Belcher (I scored the fight 29-28 for Alan Belcher when I couldn't care less about either one of them!) go search the forum for my posts about that if you don't believe me.

Furthermore, Japan fighters rarely run training camps based on their opponents. The Japanese approach is to always train hard and hone a variety of skills, they don't "game plan" which is why they often do so poorly here States side (amongst other reasons, of course).

Even Shogun said that in PRIDE FC not him nor anyone else trained for specific opponents as changes in opponents and fight dates changed often.

[Masscore]

Originally Posted by vegas bushido

Thats understandable but at the end of the day fighters get paid to fight. I don't understand why Akiyama doesn't think it would be a great highlight on his resume to dismantle Leben? To each their own I guess.

I think everyone is really overvaluing a win over Leben. Like I said before casual fans have seen Leben lose enough now that its not big of a deal to beat him. Heck beating him does not even save your job, just ask Rosholt.

[TheKidInside]

Originally Posted by Masscore

I think everyone is really overvaluing a win over Leben. Like I said before casual fans have seen Leben lose enough now that its not big of a deal to beat him. Heck beating him does not even save your job, just ask Rosholt.

...then the casual fan must've seen Wand vs Rich, Chuck, and Page...