ONE Championship announces signing of Yushin Okami

[Edge Guerrero]

By MMA Fighting Newswire Feb 19, 2019

A 16-year MMA veteran is making his way to ONE Championship.

ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced Tuesday the signing of one-time UFC middleweight title challenger Yushin Okami:

Sityodtong did not mention any further details, including what weight class Okami would be competing in. The 35-year-old Japanese fighter has competed primarily at 170 pounds since Oct. 2015. He is the latest high-profile signing by ONE, following a busy 2018 in which the promotion added the likes of Demetrious Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, and Sage Northcutt to the roster.

Okami (35-12) is best known for his two runs with the UFC, the first spanning 2006-13. That initial stint saw Okami earn wins over Alan Belcher, Mike Swick, Evan Tanner, Mark Munoz, and Nate Marquardt, among others. The victory over Marquardt propelled Okami into a middleweight title fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 134, a bout that Okami lost via second-round TKO.

He later competed for World Series of Fighting, also unsuccessfully challenging for its middleweight title, before dropping down to welterweight. He went 1-2 in a second stint with the UFC, losing to Alexey Kunchenko by unanimous decision in his most recent bout this past December.

No date or opponent was announced for Okami’s ONE debut.

Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2019/2/19/18232584/one-championship-announces-signing-of-yushin-okami