Yoshihiro Akiyama finally making move to welterweight

To the great pleasure of countless fans, as well as his employers no doubt, it appears Yoshihiro Akiyama will drop down a division after his fairly successful run as an undersized middleweight. Also interesting, Akiyama has expressed interest in training with Georges St. Pierre in hopes of learning from the best 170-pounder on the planet.

Both nuggets of information were recently revealed in an interview with Japanese outlet Sponichi;.

The 36-year old Japanese icon’s decision comes after a scary knockout loss to Vitor Belfort last month at UFC 133, the third consecutive defeat for the 13-4 Akiyama. However, in standard “Sexyama” form, all of his Octagon appearances have been entertaining including three winning “Fight of the Night” honors making his move to welterweight that much more exciting in principle.

In regards to GSP, currently considered of the top two pound-for-pound Mixed Martial Artists alongside 185-pound great Anderson Silva, Akiyama mentioned his interest in serving as an “apprentice” as it were to refine his game even more so than it already is.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC