Sexyama not happy with last minute change...

And I can't say I blame him. Tough to gameplan for an opponent that quickly. How's Sexy supposed to slow his reactions down to match Leben's shots on such short notice? Seriously though, it sounds like he's considering pulling out and that would really suck...

"I am not pleased with the change. There are just ten days left until the contest for me to determine [Leben’s] threats and the time is insufficient to establish a tailored gameplan. Leben is also not as high-profile as [Wanderlei] Silva and that does not help me. If there is to be a replacement I was hoping for a big name. I spent one year preparing hard for this fight and this news has come as a big disappointment, my motivation has waned. I do not know yet what will happen ... In the worst case, I will not take part in the [UFC 116] event. We are working hard to resolve this issue."

http://www.mmamania.com/2010/6/24/1534145/report-a-disappointed-yoshihiro

Would it suck that bad tho? Is sexy that big a name, the card was hit hard cuz of wand not being in it, sexy was just another victim of his....

think maybe he should withdrawl.....if this is the fight he wanted then wait for it or something better? If he loses that would be a step back and at a fight he really didnt want. ten days is really short!

I feel bad for the guy. Is he a big name?... Not really. But he is a decent talent to be sure. His overall resume and his win over Belcher has earned him a better fight than Leben. A loss to Wand is nothing to be embarrassed about... Leben on the other hand would send him way down the ladder. I want to see him fight regardless, and I'm curious how Leben will look fighting twice in two weeks...

This sucks, if he pulls out 116 takes a big hit.

Leben is a poor mans Wandy kind of stylewise. Wandy if he was fighting submerged in a pool of honey, with no MT clinch ability.

Akiyama would otherwise have a years worth of ring rust and would be facing a legend. This way he still faces a tough UFC level guy but can get further acclimated to the cage and work out some ring rust.

I like Akiyama, but he isn't being paid to hand pick opponents, he is being paid to fight and entertain the fans. Gee, what other sport happens (other than boxing) where one opponent doesn't agree to a competition, because it wasn't handpicked. Shit happens! Shit happens at my job and I have to clean it up, whether I want to or not.

He has a right to beef the deal, but I don't think he should be voicing this opinion like this. He hasn't fought i a while and needs to work to maintain a relevance in the middle heavy MW division. Backing out against a one step down opponent doesn't seem like a good idea. Fighters fight.

Leben's going in there as an iron man coming off a 2 week turnaround. Aki is looking like a pampered wanna be superstar talking about backing out.

He better not ruin Leben's willingness, which imo makes for a great story.

Sexy dont duck the Crippler that would be worse than losing to him.

Honestly if any of us were Akiyama we don't tae the fight, he's arguably a Wandy win away from a Title shot, and now he's fighting Leben who could potentially beat him.

I'm sure Dana will get wind of this and make it well worth Sexy's while to take the fight.

sexy looses to Wand no big deal every Japanese citizen expects GodZilla to crush the city. If sexy won against Wand he gets instant Jap Cred and he has been a heel of sorts in his country.

Leben does nothing for him in his home country so in that sense I see where he is coming from. I do feel that he should want to destroy leben for taking the fight on 2 weeks when Sexy has been training a year for this fight. I mean if thats not motivation I dont know what is!

He may be a Wanderlei win away from a title shot but if he doesn't fight for another 8 months that will be almost two years between fights for him. His chances certainly don't improve against Wanderlei Silva on a 20 month layoff. He does have a legit beef here since there's just over a week left until fight night, but Akiyama really cannot afford to back out of this fight if he wants to keep his hopes alive for fighting the Axe Murderer. Besides, a win over Chris Leben right now would definitely push him closer to relevancy, hype train or not.

This should be Akiyama's walkout

Though I don't get the whole Sexyama thing, just another asian guy to me.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/19674/sources-despite-protests-yoshihiro-akiyama-will-fight-chris-leben-at-ufc-116.mma?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mmajunkie+%28MMAjunkie.com+Feed%29

Sexy has apparently agreed to the fight despite initial protests

I figured. I know this fight is one he was really really emotionally invested in and I am sure he was venting frustrations. Who wouldn't?

It be like taking a fight with Stephan Bonnar after having a battle with Dan Henderson booked.

No one likes my Seyama entrance, he comes out with 3 asians bitches, and they tear his shirt off at the end, theat'd be classic.

Not really, Wolf. Leben CAN win this fight. His chances are even better now that Akiyama doesn't have time to study him and really devote training camp to a gameplan for him. Leben's tough chin and wild left hand make him an X factor in this fight.

Got to be honest, Akiyama is the better fighter, but I may change my pick to Leben here, you know exactly what he's going to do, turn it into a slugfest which is his forte.

And Bonnar would have a chance too. I know Leben has a chance. I think I said that like 200 times, not sure what you're "not reallying"

LudoCain wrote:

Not really, Wolf. Leben CAN win this fight. His chances are even better now that Akiyama doesn't have time to study him and really devote training camp to a gameplan for him. Leben's tough chin and wild left hand make him an X factor in this fight.

But Leben has not prepared for Akiyama. so how does one guy benefit while the other does not? And I agree with wolf in that Leben is a poor man's Wandy. It's not like Aki is facing a totally different type of fighter.

looping hooks at half the speed he was expecting. Sounds fine to me.

Leben doesn't exactly "prepare" for anyone in particular. His game will always be his game. He is a sprawl and brawl specialist and he has yet to sway from that gameplan no matter who he's fighting. Akiyama.

As far as what I was "not reallying" had more to do with the comparison that Stephan Bonnar is as fair a comparison to make to Chris Leben as Dan Henderson is to Wanderlei Silva. Leben was once a contender for the title, and served as a tough matchup for almost anyone in his division despite being predictable in gameplan. Bonnar went from might be to never was. There is a difference.