Yoshihiro Akiyama speaks about his UFC 100 fight with Alan Belcher

UFC 100 saw the highly anticipated UFC debut of Judo superstar Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama, and his fight did not disappoint, winning “Fight of the Night”. Akiyama’s comments suggest he could have performed better, but the language barrier got in the way.

Speaking in an interview with SportsNavi following the fight, Akiyama speaks about his fight with Alan Belcher.

“Alan was a very tough fighter. The damage of the low blow in the beginning of the fight was quite strong. I thought that if he hit me there again I wouldn’t be able to continue the fight. I wanted to take a large break but there was confusion during the fight. I misunderstood the referee saying 5 minutes in English as 5 seconds, I continued the fight urgently but this took a big toll on the exhaustion of my physical strength.”

“My eye got injured when I got downed on the first round by a left. I felt an abnormality in my eye after the end of the 1st round. One eye was closed so I didn’t know about my sense of distance. Because I couldn’t see any attacks from my opponents right side I received a lot of leg kicks from that side. I didn’t continue with the game plan, the only reason I won was my feeling that I really didn’t want to lose this fight.”

“After the fight when I was in the hospital, Dana White came personally and told me first hand that me and Belcher’s fight was elected as the fight of the night. I was very happy. Something about the booing. Akiyama says that they (the UFC/authorized people) told him that the booing was because Bisping had come by the entrance at the end of the fight, so there would be no misunderstandings. Alan is the toughest fighter I have faced and I’m proud to have been able to fight him. I will devote myself from now on so please support me.”

A lot of people, Alan Belcher first and foremost, thought that he should have taken the decision victory against Akiyama. As it stands Akiyama won, however it is not yet know what will be next for the Japanese fighter.

By Rory Logan

(Translated by: NightmareofBattle.com)