David Beckham. Photo: Publicity
Coming off a loss to Chris Leben at UFC 116, Japan’s Yoshihiro Akiyama is to face England’s Michael Bisping at UFC 120. To Akiyama the bout is a chance to recover his standing in the organization. According to him, Bisping is very famous, bringing about the comparison to one of the fighter’s countrymen.
“I’m really excited about facing Michael Bisping in his homeland. From what I hear, Bisping is as popular over there as David Beckham, and I feel honored. I want to show the world that Asian fighters can face the best in the world. I hope there will be a lot of Asian fans in London,” said the Japanese fighter on the website of Fighters Only magazine.
Exaggeration aside, commentators have always said David Beckham was a good ball player elevated to ace status by way of lots of marketing.
Could Akiyama’s comparison be taking that into account? We’ll find out the truth in the octagon…