UFC Debuts Down Under; Wanderlei v. Akiyama to Headline…

October 16, 2009, at 3:43 pm

Get ready to put another shrimp on the barbi, fight fans.

UFC 111 will take place in February in Australia as many have suggested over the last couple of months. The main event will mark Wanderlei Silva’s debut at 185, and return from facial surgery that is supposed to resurrect his career. His opponent will be Japanese pop-icon Yoshihiro Akiyama. The man affectionately known as “Sexy-yama” won his UFC debut in a controversial split decision that this blog felt the judges got very wrong. Here’s the news from MMA Weekly:

Wanderlei Silva, in a video posted to his official YouTube channel on Thursday night, confirmed his next fight would be at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s debut in Australia.

He will face Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 111 when the promotion lands at the Acer Arena in Sydney. Akiyama first mentioned the bout at a recent press conference in Japan touting the UFC’s new “Undisputed” video game.

“I am so happy because it is the first event there,” said Silva with a huge smile across his face. “This is a great honor for me because I fight in the main event in Cologne, Germany, in the first event there, and I’m gonna fight in the first event in Australia.”

Silva (32-10-1) hasn’t fought since Germany in June, where he lost a unanimous decision in a 195-pound catchweight to Rich Franklin. Accruing a 1-3 record since joining the ranks of the UFC, the bout with Akiyama will be Silva’s first at 185 pounds, a move that will put him on a more level playing field with his opposition.

The logic is as follows: Austrailia is close to Japan, right? Silva is a legend is the Far East from his days as PRIDE’s biggest draw. Akiyama is a legend in that part of the world because he’s a pop music sensation in addition to a fighter. (No, I am not kidding.) Let’s just assume that the Japanese, a country full of MMA fans, will make the 10-hour plane trek to get to the Outback.

Personally, I wasn’t that impressed with Akiyama, and I’d expect the Axe murderer to get back on track.