Sherdog’s Top 10: Japanese Fighters
Mike SloanSep 09, 2015
An often overlooked piece of Japan’s MMA tapestry, Okami owns a resume few of his contemporaries can match.
With wrestling and judo as his base skills, Okami used a special combination of technique and brute strength to control and overwhelm his foes. “Thunder” bounced around Pride Fighting Championships, Pancrase and K-1 Hero’s before putting down roots in the UFC. There, he hit his stride and quickly emerged as a legitimate contender for the title at 185 pounds, scoring wins over Mike Swick, Dean Lister, Evan Tanner, Alan Belcher (twice), Hector Lombard, Mark Munoz and Nate Marquardt. A TKO loss to Ronaldo Souza in September 2013 sent Okami packing for the World Series of Fighting.
Okami has never reached the heights some thought he might, but then again, navigating a division ruled by the great Anderson Silva -- “The Spider” defeated him at UFC 134 -- was easier said than done.
Number 6 » She won her first 22 fights, 19 of them finishes, using armbars, heel hooks, chokes and keylocks in tearing through Shooto and Smackgirl. No one came close to beating her.