A supposed web translation of comments Yoshihiro Akiyama made on Daum.net does not portray Akiyama as excited about his upcoming UFC 116 fight.
Word broke this week that Wanderlei Silva was forced to pull out of the scheduled co-main-event with Akiyama; Chris Leben, who fought on last weekend’s “Ultimate Fighter” finale, was announced as the replacement.
Akiyama, however, is apparently not taking kindly to the substitution. Courtesy a translation on Fighters Only Magazine, he said on Daum, “I am not pleased with the change. There are just ten days left until the contest for me to determine [Leben’s] threats and the time is insufficient to establish a tailored gameplan. Leben is also not as high-profile as [Wanderlei] Silva and that does not help me.”
He added, “If there is to be a replacement I was hoping for a big name…I spent one year preparing hard for this fight and this news has come as a big disappointment, my motivation has waned. I do not know yet what will happen. .. In the worst case, I will not take part in the [UFC 116] event. We are working hard to resolve this issue.”