Yoshihiro Akiyama Defeats Alan Belcher by Split Decision in UFC Debut

In the first televised fight of the night at UFC 100, Yoshihiro Akiyama managed to win his UFC debut over Alan Belcher by split decision. The decision was controversial in some people's eyes. But it was a close fight that truly could've gone either way in every round.

The first round saw Belcher hit home with some nice low kicks, even if most of them missed hitting home with power. Akiyama connected with a couple of nice high kicks and punches before gaining a takedown at the end of the round. That said, a Belcher left hand dropped him earlier in the stanza, even if he did pop right back up. So it was a hard round to call.

The second round saw Akiyama take Belcher down early and connect with some nice ground and pound in spots. Around the halfway point, Belcher got up and outstruck his opponent for the majority of the stanza by a little, hitting home with some very nice low kicks. So it was another close round that could've gone either way.

The final round saw Belcher connect with some devastating low kicks and Akiyama's eye close from swelling. However, Akiyama did connect with a right hand that dropped his adversary- who seemed to be somewhat off balance from throwing a low kick- and both fighters hit home with a lot of punches. Akiyama's right hand plus a takedown that he achieved (Belcher got right back up) made the third round close as well.

In the end, this was a fight that saw both competitors bring it. Each and every round was close enough to go either way. Akiyama won. Some don't think he should have. That's why fighters are taught to avoid decisions whenever possible.