TOKYO – There was something obviously different about Yushin Okami (26-6 MMA, 10-3 UFC) the moment he walked into Wednesday's UFC 144 pre-event press conference in Tokyo.
From the ever-present smile on his face to the boxing-heavy workout session (complete with Anderson Silva-esque arm-hanging and slick shoulder rolls), Okami was in a completely different zone.
And it's not just for show, Okami said. Following his UFC 134 loss to middleweight champ Silva, "Thunder" believes he's a completely new man.
"There's a mindset change," Okami told MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) through an interpreter. "In the past, I was really nervous toward the fight, and I would force myself to think, 'I've got to do this, I've got to do that.' But right now, I've learned more about trying to relax and enjoy myself."
Okami meets Tim Boetsch (14-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in the main card of this weekend's UFC 144 event, which takes place Sunday at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and airs on Saturday night in the U.S. It's the Japanese product's first fight since falling short this past August in a bid for the middleweight title.
Okami, who traveled to Brazil for the Silva fight, admitted the second-round TKO loss was devastating, and he initially found it hard to bounce back.
"Actually, I was really depressed right after the fight, and I thought about myself so much," Okami said. "But it helped me a lot."
Okami held his training camp at Oregon's Team Quest before ultimately returning to Japan to put the finishing touches on his preparation. He credits Chael Sonnen and Matt Lindland for guiding his refined approach, and he credits the loss to Silva for allowing his mind to relax.
"I think this was really big," Okami said.
Many of Silva's recent opponents – including Sonnen and Vitor Belfort, among others – have immediately asked for a second shot. However, Okami is fine in taking a more patient road back to the top.
"It is my character to want to fight him again, but I'm feeling like I need to train harder and beat stronger opponents, and then hopefully I can go back to Anderson Silva," Okami said.
So in the meantime, Okami is comfortable going back to the drawing board, both physically and mentally. He's more relaxed than ever, but he insists that doesn't mean he's any less focused. He's just finally come into his own, and if Wednesday's session is any indication, he's got a few new shimmies to unleash.
"I've been doing training for all techniques but especially for striking these days," Okami said. "I just wanted to show everyone.
"It will be nice if I can show everything that I have in the octagon."
