He got a reality check against both Amar Suloev and Falaniko Vitale. When Amar beat him, Okami had just two years of training under his belt. He was inexperienced. Vitale just managed to beat him by a split decision. For the rest, Okami won.

Alas, his last win was by DQ. Sure, Anderson was dominating, however Okami has come back twice from being dominated to win the fight (against Steve White and Brian Foster). He's quite a solid fighter. Perhaps he could have pulled off an upset. But the real question is, will he ever be a dominant world-class fighter? If yes, when will he break through? His upcoming bout against Jake Shields will be an important indicator and a major crossroad. Before that, here's an overview of his past to put his present in context. I was able to interview him at the Wk gym a month before ROTC9. Here's what he had to say.

Kakutougi: You last fought Anderson Silva. How was Anderson's striking?

Okami: His low and high kicks were imposing. Strong pressure.

Kakutougi: What was it like in comparison to Amar Suloev?

Okami: They both pressure similarly. Kickboxing style. They both had a tight guard. Anderson is taller and used quite a lot of high kicks. Amar had maybe heavier hands and Anderson had maybe heavier kicks.

Kakutougi: How do you compare their takedown defense?

Okami: I fought Amar a while ago, so I can't be sure. But I'd say Amar probably has the better takedown defense.

Kakutougi: What about Anderson's jujitsu?

Okami: Hmm, he first tried to triangle me, and that's about it. I guess he's okay.

Kakutougi: Anderson seems pretty thin. Is he strong?

Okami: In person, he was thicker than I thought, muscularly.

Kakutougi: If you were to re-match him, how would you prepare?

Okami: Since then, I'm working even more on my striking. He's not easy to take down. I'd need to mix in better striking. If we were to fight again, I think the match would unravel differently.

Kakutougi: He's reportedly training with Olympic level strikers. How about you?

Okami: I'm getting to train with some K-1 level strikers like Ruslan Karaev at Marupro gym.

Kakutougi: Backing up a little, you used to do judo in high-school. How did it go?

Okami: It was okay. My school wasn't a very strong judo school. But I did my best.

Kakutougi: When did you transition to MMA?

Okami: Sometime around the end of 2001.

Kakutougi: You picked Wajutsu Keishukai. Why?

Okami: Someone I knew introduced me to the Wk pres., and here I am.

Kakutougi: You debuted in the March 2002 Pre-Pride 4 tournament. Why so early? How was it?

Okami: The Wk pres. asked me to fight in that tournament from our first meeting. I thought it was going to be a small amateur tournament but it turned out to be pretty big. It was an eight-man tournament. I fought 3 opponents, including Naito Yukiya, who went on to win the Japanese qualifier for the ADCC. He's also from the Wk network but from the A-3 gym whereas I train mainly at the RJW and Tokyo gym.

Kakutougi: Next, you fought at Pride the Best Vol2 where you beat Matsuda Hidehisa. Then you beat Sasaki Kyosuke at the Wk organized GCM event. After that you fought Steve White at Pride the Best Vol3. How were these fights?

Okami: For Pride the Best, we fought in an Octagon ring. I fought the opening match. Took Matsuda down. Pounded him away. Sasaki, I won by UD. Steve White almost knocked me out with a punch. I fell down but came back to win by pound. That's when I felt the danger of striking.

Kakutougi: You seem to be known as a striker/pounder. Were you a striker/pounder at heart from the get-go? Why?

Okami: Around that time, I still didn't know much about fighting. I just brawled my way through. Then I discovered the joy of pounding when I pounded Matsuda out cold. I just felt a strangely soothing feeling. Besides, it's showy. Also, unlike submitting, even if I don't finish my opponent, I can leave a lot of damage. In the process, I've broken my knuckles twice. But pounding is my color. I'd like to continue showcasing my style of pounding.

Kakutougi: In your next bout, you fought Nakadai Sen. Your first Pancrase match against a Pancrase-ism fighter. You won by UD. In the post-fight interview, you mentioned Sasaki Yuki and Minowa Ikuhisa as fighters that marked you. And later on, you'd often pop up the name of Misaki Kazuo in your mark list. All three of these fighters fought in the same venue alongside Ricardo Alemeida, Kikuta Sanae and Jushin Thunder Liger. Everyone won except for Sasaki who lost against Minowa, and Thunder Liger who lost against Suzuki Minoru. Out of all these fighters, Misaki seems to top your chart of "fighter-to-beat". Did this feeling begin at this event?

Okami: Hmm... I guess so. I wasn't that knowledgeable about the MMA world. At that event, I got to actually see him fight. The opponent he beat by arm bar was my teammate. I saw that he was real good. I guess that's when he marked me.

Kakutougi: After you went onto beat Sato Hikaru, you won the Japanese middle weight qualification tournament for the ADCC. There seems to be some confusion about who you beat. Please clarify.

Okami: I beat: Nishiguchi Masato, Sotoyama Shinpei, Akimoto Shunichi and Yamashita Shiko.

Kakutougi: Do you consider getting back to the ADCC challenge? And how do you envision a re-match against the tough Yamashita Shiko?

Okami: If I don't have any MMA match around the qualification tournament date, then I'd maybe consider challenging again. If the ADCC was going to be held in Japan, I'd definitely get into the mix. In regards to Yamashita, I'm much better than him. The gap is wider than before. In gi or no-gi grappling, I'd beat him.

Kakutougi: You then beat Japanese sambo champ Hasegawa Hidehiko just two weeks before the ADCC. It was a main event bout. How did you feel?

Okami: At that time, he was on a submission roll. Arm-bar from the back. When I fought him, I got the top-position, and pounded him away to get the UD. I was happy. I can't lose in a main event. Also, we were talking some smack in magazines (beforehand), so I especially couldn't lose.

Kakutougi: After your fight, and before heading to ADCC, you were interviewed by Showtime network. You listed three names of opponents you wanted to fight in the future. Namely: Misaki Kazuo, Ishikawa Eiji, and Takeuchi Izuru. Why them?

Okami: Simply because they’re good, and in my weight division. I’ve got to beat who's good.

Kakutougi: In the ADCC, you grappled Matt Lindland where you lost in a rather monotonous match. How was it, and how was he?

Okami: We indeed didn't get to do much. I didn't have enough ability to showcase techniques. As he's a Greco wrestler, he clutched a lot. What marked me were his arms. He has strangely long arms, very long arms. His complexion is soft but he's got long arms.

Kakutougi: How was Brazil?

Okami: Brazil was fun! The girls are cute, friendly. Even from the first time you meet them, they treat you nice.

Kakutougi: After you TKO’d Hanada Kazuhiro, you suddenly faced Amar Suloev at a MFC event in Russia. What was it like fighting in Russia?

Okami: Scary (lol). A very different atmosphere. A bunch of armed soldiers in a stadium filled with Russians. My first MMA match abroad. People around the cage were sitting at tables, eating and drinking. The rest behind, watching as usual.

Kakutougi: Why suddenly Amar? It seems like quite a jump in level. How did the fight go?

Okami: I was told, "There's this offer, this opponent, this match up". I thought it would be a good experience. So I accepted. I then checked his record and saw he was a big name. I thought it would be a good opportunity. He dominated me with his strikes. He defended all my takedown attempts. He dropped me down, pounded, ref stopped. TKO.

Kakutougi: You returned home, fought a doubles grappling match at the Contenders, and then fought Kubota Kosei. How did you feel getting into your first MMA fight after your loss?

Okami: I said "I've got to win this in a nice way", and I got a great win by pound. One punch knocked him out cold. Great win. I surprised myself (lol).

Kakutougi: Then came your return to the Pride ring against Sakurai Yuta. How was that?

Okami: Pride was my dream stage. I didn't think I was at their level yet. They made Bushido, my division. The dream came true.

Kakutougi: Minowa fought Wanderlei in the same venue. What did he mean to you by then?

Okami: Minowa wasn't in my mind. He was in another world. Not someone I'd fight. He's into the whole absolute weight, entertainment course.

Kakutougi: Super Brawl 36 came by and you popped up to fight Falaniko Vitale which you lost by Split Decision. Why suddenly Falaniko? Did you feel you lost? How was Hawaii too?

Okami: GCM got the offer. I accepted. I thought I won. But I was fighting away so it's understandable. Overall, I felt I could fight at the world level. Hawaii was fun. I got used to fighting abroad.

Kakutougi: Ishikawa Eiji was next in line. A sort of crossroad in your MMA life. What was in your mind when you faced this match-up? You won by UD, however you felt you could finish him off. Would you consider a re-match?

Okami: I couldn't lose that fight. I'd fall down the stairs where I'd have to re-start from zero. I beat him. I'm not thinking of a re-match. I'm looking higher up.

Kakutougi: Toida Katsuya apparently cornered you for this bout and for all your Pancrase bouts. Is he your usual corner-man? What place does he occupy in your MMA life?

Okami: Toida did corner me quite a bit in the early days. Now Isono corners me all the time. He also cornered me for the Pre-Pride event. They’re both easy-going. And I knew them well from my start.

Kakutougi: Around that time, Misaki lost a Pancrase title fight against Marquardt via UD. At the time of the Ishikawa bout, you seemed eager to fight the winner of this match up. But to no avail. Instead you went on to fight Brian Foster in the newly created GCM D.O.G event. What happened? And how was Brian Foster? His fight record isn't great but you apparently struggled a lot in beating him. And what's with the story that Akebono ended up cornering you?

Okami: I guess we prioritized the marketing of our MMA event, but I think I'll fight one of them eventually. Brian Foster was tough. His record isn't great, yes, but his underrated. Grappling wise, he isn't superb. However, I wanted to make the fight as exciting as possible by standing with him. And that's where he taught me a great lesson. His stand-up game was really good. He gave me a tough fight. In the beginning, I was losing. Akebono was watching me from the top seats, avoiding the public eyes. He saw me on the receiving side. So he decided to come down and cheer me up. We knew each other since I helped him prepare for his fight against Royce Gracie.

Kakutougi: Afterward, you fought Damien Ricco. I saw this fight on TV. I was wondering why you decided to pound him over and over from the back with his stomach flat on the ground when you could have probably finished him with a quick choke.

Okami: Everyone before me wwas finishing with submission moves. I decided to change things up and pound.

Kakutougi: After that win, you went on to beat Myun Joo Lee. Why him?

Okami: He's supposedly a Korean Absolute Vale Tudo Champ (lol).

Kakutougi: Your fight record seems to lack clear connection; a circumstance that makes your position in the MMA world unclear.

Okami: Right. My fights aren't very connected. That's why I'm in the Rumble tournament. If I win a championship, I'll have a clearer status.

Kakutougi: What's your impression of Jake Shileds? Carlos Condit? Frank Trigg?

Okami: Jake has sticky grappling and a great stamina. Carlos has sharp striking, good knees, he's a striker. Trigg is all-round. He goes for the tackle and pound.

Kakutougi: Alright, some other names of fighters you could maybe fight in the near future. Please add your comment. First up, Misaki Kazuo.

Okami: Good balance. All-round. He has an aggressive allure, but his actual approach to fighting is calm.

Kakutougi: Nathan Marquardt?

Okami: He's real good. All-round. He's one rank above Japanese fighters. But he may lack stamina.

Kakutougi: Chonan "The Pirana", who seems to want to kick your butt.

Okami: I'll take the "Pirana" out of the water and squash him.

Kakutougi: Minowa?

Okami: Fine fighter. Good tackle. Good sub.

Kakutougi: Phil Baroni?

Okami: Good puncher. He has holes. Once you get him down, he can be handled.

Kakutougi: Dan Henderson?

Okami: He has a distinct punch. His right straight is distinct. It lands a lot. Maybe hard to see. He’s apparently learned to throw his own style of punch that works. Great fighter.

Kakutougi: Matt Hughes?

Okami: A fighter I admire.

Kakutougi: BJ Penn?

Okami: I've met him several times. He fights smart.

Kakutougi: Aoki Shinya.

Okami: Good. He has a great ability to pull off submission wins. It's hard to sub in actual bouts.

Kakutougi: The "Wajutsu" in Wajutsu Keishukai was apparently pronounced "Jujutsu" at first. The founder Nishi Yoshinori, Moriyama the Wk Tokyo head instructor, and Wk President Kubo are all students of Kimura Masahiko. The Wk seems to have been born as a revival of the great old Japanese jujutsu. Are you conscious of this lineage?

Okami: Well, sort of yes. Through Moriyama, I'm in Kimura's lineage.

Kakutougi: You used to do judo in high-school and you seem to like pro-wrestling, do you still follow them? Who's your favorite judo grappler? Also, which Pro-wrestling league do you like?

Okami: I watch them when they're on TV. In Judo, I like Inoue Kosei. In Pro-wrestling, I watch indie leagues like the DDT http://www.ddtpro.com/. Low-level imitations of the American WWE. Underground stuff. No one famous but it's still fun stuff.

Kakutougi: Finally, do you have any message out there for those reading and supporting you?

Okami: I got a DQ win over Anderson. I'm unhappy. I want a clear win, a clear status. I hope I'll get that task done through this championship.

Kakutougi: Thank you for your time.

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A preview for this event can be found here.