UFC signs Akiyama

The UFC made a statement this week in announcing the signing of one of the top MMA stars in Japan and South Korea, Yoshihiro Akiyama. Akiyama, the ethnic Korean judoka who garnered distain from the Japanese after using a lotion to avoid takedowns from the beloved Kazushi Sakuraba, is expected to make his Octagon debut in the summer as a middleweight.

The signing sends a strong signal that the UFC is planning on making a push into Asia, specifically Korea. The company is planning to hold press conferences in Japan and Korea to tout the Akiyama signing. The charismatic fighter has had some of the highest-rated scraps on Japanese television in recent years. The UFC/WEC has recently been in talks with some of the other top names of the Japanese combat scene, including Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto and 2008 Olympic judo gold medalist Satoshii Ishii. The company recently signed lightweight stalwart Caol Uno.

The UFC planned to stage events in Japan in 2007 after purchasing Pride Fighting Championships, but UFC President Dana White ended up backing off on the idea, saying politics in the country was keeping the foreign-owned UFC out of contention for a network television deal. The UFC returned to Japanese television in October with broadcasts of its live fight cards on WOWOW, a pay channel with limited reach, similar to HBO or Showtime. UFC cards also air on Super Action, Korea’s top cable network.

In a move that suggests parallels to the Akiyama signing, White has said he aggressively pursued signing Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic as a way to drain Pride of one its top names and compel others to follow suit. In remarks at a press conference following UFC 94, White said Japan was a "very, very, very tough place to navigate and to do business" but concluded "we're going to do it anyway." The UFC hasn’t held an event in Japan since Zuffa took ownership of the company in 2001. The UFC 29 “Defense of the Belts” marked the third and last visit of the Octagon to Asia.