UFC entlaesst Yushin Okami!

[Nefercheperur]

Die UFC hat ihren #6 Middleweight Fighter Yushin Okami (29-8-0) entlassen. Okami gab 2006 sein UFC Debut und hatte seither einen 13-5-0 UFC Record wobei Okami die ganze Zeit ein Top Ten Fighter in der UFC war.Okami verlor zwar zuletzt gegen Ronaldo Jacare, gewann davor jedoch drei Fights in Folge, ua auch gegen Hector Lombard und den Refight mit Alan Belcher. Okami ist inzwischen in Verhandlungen mit der World Series of Fighting.

Auf die Frage warum man Okami entlies antwortete UFC President Dana White:“Der Roster ist zu voll!“ Mmmhhh, also Dana verstehe ich das richtig? Die UFC hat keinen Platz fuer den #6 Middleweight Fighter in the World auf den gefuehlten 100 UFC Shows im Jahr, aber dafuer Platz fuer SEHR VIEL SCHLECHTERE Fighter? Ich meine man muss kein Genie sein um zu verstehen warum man Okami entlies, es ist das gleiche wie bei Fitch, aber dann sollten sie es auch BITTE ehrlich sagen.

[Nefercheperur]

Dana White hat erklaert warum er Yushin Okami entlies, im Prinzip die gleiche Erklaerung wie bei Jon Fitch:

“It was the same thing when we were talking about Fitch. You have to look at a guy. Yushin Okami's been there forever, and I've said many times I have nothing but respect for Yushin Okami. I think he's one of the best Japanese fighters ever. But a guy gets to a point where he becomes [lexicon]the gatekeeper[/lexicon], and they start to go on a skid.

It's time for Yushin Okami to go out and test himself outside the UFC, get some wins and maybe come back, and it's time for some other guys to fight in that division. Yushin Okami's had every opportunity in the world, taking on all the best. He even got a title shot and didn't win. It is what it is.”

Wie schon gesagt, eine Erklaerung die man verstehen kann, ABER die Frage ist wieso ist man dann nicht konstant und setzt das bei allen Fightern um…? Oder noch besser, es gibt Fighter die sind noch laenger wie Okami in der UFC, und die haben in der Zeit nicht mal den Gatekeeper Status erreicht und sind noch viel mehr auf dem absteigenden Ast…da waeren Brandon Vera und Chris Leben zu nennen. Die werden behalten, obwohl sie laut der oben genannten Erklaerung schon vor Jahren haetten entlassen werden muessen. Sie werden aber behalten aus anderen Gruenden, genauso wie Yushin Okami entlassen wurde nicht weil er Gatekeeper Status erreicht hat, sondern weil er immer noch gut genug ist um 90% der UFC Middleweights zu schlagen und schlecht aussehen zu lassen und dabei zu viel verdient im UFC Gehaltsgefuege.

[Nefercheperur]

Yahoo Sports hat einen Artikel veroeffentlich zu der Entlassung von Yushin Okami.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ufc-cuts-ok...--mma.html

RY | The UFC implemented a ranking system for its weight divisions in Jan. 2013, but that hasn't stopped the company from releasing fighters who were ranked highly in its own system. Yushin Okami became the second mixed martial artist, the first being Jon Fitch, to lose his job with the UFC despite being considered one of the company's ten best fighters in his weight class.

There are some important similarities between Fitch and Okami at the time of their releases. Both had a grinding style that many casual fans didn't appreciate; neither was a big draw; they each won fights at a high percentage rate; they had fallen to the champion of their weight class, and were unlikely to ever battle for the belt again.

Okami, a longtime middleweight standout, went 13-5 in his UFC run, and 3-1 in his last four fights with the company. UFC president Dana White explained the release as necessary due to a limited roster, and Okami's lack of a signature win.

The UFC middleweight division has never been viewed as particularly stacked, and the company's desire to part with a top ten fighter seems questionable for a number of reasons. This release directly contradicts its own ranking system, and is in opposition to the UFC gathering all of the best fighters in the world in one organization.

The reality is Okami, as well as Fitch, were not valuable enough to put in feature spots, where they would have the opportunity to eliminate potential title contenders. Their contracts were also probably a lot higher than other fighters who had stronger drawing power. Business is business, but MMA is also a sport.

No legitimate professional sports league would release top talent because they weren't marketable. This is essentially what the UFC did. It wasn't a cost cutting measure necessary like when an NFL veteran is cut by a cash strapped team. The move eliminated one of the company's better fighters pretty much because he wasn't best for business, with no regard for what was best for the sport. The UFC's own ranking system tells its fans that he deserves to be with the company.

The UFC has increasingly been blurring the line between sport and entertainment, Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen being the biggest recent example. Moves like this make one question why they even have a ranking system if they're not going to adhere to it when making decisions. There's a line between sports and entertainment, and the UFC sent a message with this move that they're willing to cross it.

[TheRaven666]

Das wird sicherlich wieder einen typischen Dana White-Rant nach sich ziehen - eben weil Yahoo dort völlig recht hat und die Sache auf den Punkt bringt.