Yushin Okami secured a shot at the UFC middleweight title after scoring a unanimous decision over Nate Marquardt on Saturday.
Japanese fighter records unanimous decision against Marquardt
Yushin Okami secured a shot at the UFC middleweight title after scoring a unanimous decision over Nate Marquardt on Saturday night.
The Japanese fighter was awarded the bout by 30-27 and 29-28 twice on the judges' scorecards at the end of three rounds at UFC 122 in the German city of Oberhausen.
Okami looked for a takedown early in the first round but Marquardt fought it off before going on the offensive himself and trying to work his way into his opponent's guard.
Okami's defence held firm, however, and he used a guillotine choke attempt from Marquardt to get back on his feet.
From there, the rest of the round was a stalemate, although Okami did manage a takedown just before the bell.
The second round continued in much the same vein, with Marquardt landing some strikes and Okami looking unsuccessfully for a takedown.
At the start of the final round, Okami's fists opened a cut under Marquardt's right eye and then went after his American opponent with more strikes, growing in confidence as the end of the fight approached.
Target
Okami was duly given the decision and improves to 27-5, with his next target Brazilian star and current title holder Anderson Silva.
"Nate was a great fighter. I'm ready for the championship," Okami said after the bout.
In other action at Konig Pilsener Arena, Duane Ludwig made a winning return to action after an ankle injury by clinching a split decision against Nick Osipczak.
The veteran striker stood and traded with his opponent for much of the contest and was given the fight 29-28 by two judges, while one gave it to Osipczak by the same score.
Light-heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski continued his progression with a dominant unanimous decision over Goran Reljic, being awarded the fight with scores of 30-27 across the board.
Amir Sadollah was in similar dominant form as he got back to winning ways after a May defeat to Dong Hyun Kim by seeing off Peter Sobotta with a comfortable unanimous decision.
British fighter Andre Winner submitted to a rear naked choke in the first round of an all-action bout with Denis Siver.
Alessio Sakara was forced to withdraw from the co-main event against Jorge Rivera after suffering from flu-like symptoms.
