Yushin Okami meets Anderson Silva in Brazil at UFC 134 on Aug. 27 for the UFC world middleweight title, in a rematch of a fight he won by disqualification. Okami, presumably after seeing Chael Sonnen dominate Silva at UFC 117 for four rounds (before losing to a triangle in the fifth and final round), chose to train with Sonnen in preparation for UFC Rio. Although the choice of training partner is an obvious one, in an interview on Sunday with Brazil’s O Globo newspaper, Silva had dismissive words for the decision.
You have to find the best people to train with, and I think [Okami] chose wrong, Silva said. I’d never align myself with a loser, a loser in every sense. He didn’t win the fight [between us] and got caught doping. You want to be a champion? Get with good people, with winners. Moreover, Sonnen wasn’t a tough opponent for me. I was injured with cracked ribs and fought five rounds. If I hadn’t been injured, the fight would have been different.
Brazilians are involved in MMA; they’re talking about it. Many people call me to talk and to tell me they’ll be at my fight. They want to see me live. It’s a different emotion. I’m starting to feel like Brazil vs. Argentina, not the rivalry but the pressure. I’m trained not to feel pressure, to approach it as just one more fight. And I’ll have to train because [Okami] will be well-trained, just like the Argentines when they come to play here [in soccer].
