Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama will look to avoid disaster in the form of a fifth straight stumble this summer when he faces hard-hitting Brazilian Thiago Alves in Calgary. The popular welterweight is coming off a hard-fought decision defeat to Jake Shields in February after turning in an exciting albeit non-successful run as a 185-pounder inside the Octagon.
Their bout at UFC 149, along with a match-up between George Roop-Antonio Carvalho, was confirmed this week by organization officials.
Despite the losses Akiyama is still 13-5 in his career with notable victories over Alan Belcher, Melvin Manhoef, and Denis Kang. Twelve of his wins have involved some form of finish with a nice balance between submissions/TKOs.
Alves will no doubt be looking to avoid Akiyama’s grappling in general based on his past performances including a submission loss in the closing minute of a March fight he was winning against Martin Kampmann. The 19-9 striker has stopped eleven of the opponents he’s beaten by way of TKO including Karo Parisyan and Matt Hughes.
Alves Blames Kampmann Loss on Bad Advice
UFC 149 is scheduled for July 21 and will feature Jose Aldo defending his featherweight title in the main event.
PHOTO CREDIT – UFC
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