Bellator's Rebney noncommittal about signing former UFC title challenger Okami

For now, it appears Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney isn’t jumping out of his promoter’s chair to sign Yushin Okami.

After this past Friday’s Bellator 101 in Portland, MMAjunkie.com asked Rebney whether he had any interest in the middleweight, whose release from the UFC this past week created a stir among fans.

“I don’t know,” was the promoter’s first response.

But Rebney wasn’t exactly dismissing the fighter, either.

“I’m always interested in talented fighters, and at this stage, when there’s really just two of us (promotions) out there, there’s a lot of guys that have been here long-term for us that are now fighting in the UFC – I think by last count, 24 of them,” he said. “And there are surely a good number of UFC fighters that were under long-term (contracts) with them that are now here – 15 of them, I think. So I don’t know.

“He’s an entertaining fighter – obviously, has had a little bit of a skid as of late. But I really haven’t given it much consideration. We’ve got the week-by-week (events). I’ll go home and rest and see my wife for a few hours and go right back to work on Saturday. Tough question – haven’t given it a lot of thought. I did hear about it because I’m on Twitter and I read everything, but I don’t really have a definitive statement of a yay or a nay.”

Two years ago, Okami (29-8), who hails from Kanagawa, Japan, was called the best middleweight to come out of his country prior to a failed bid for the 185-pound title against now-former champ Anderson Silva. Despite losing a chance to capture UFC gold, Okami never strayed from the top 10, and beat several top contenders while winning 13 of his 18 UFC appearances.

Okami currently is ranked No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA middleweight rankings.

During a media scrum following a “World Tour” stop for UFC 168 in Rio de Janeiro, UFC President Dana White compared the reaction to Okami’s release to that of onetime welterweight title challenger Jon Fitch, whose cut prompted critics to say the UFC was valuing style over substance on its talent roster. The fighters share a reputation for grinding out their opponents rather than finishing them.

“Yushin Okami’s had every opportunity in the world, taking on all the best,” White said. “He even got a title shot and didn’t win. It is what it is. It’s no different than the NFL, soccer or any other sport. There comes a time when a team moves on and does other things, no matter where the guy ranks.”

Rebney, of course, said he wasn’t interested in signing Fitch, and the fighter wound up signing with the upstart World Series of Fighting. Asked whether Okami’s reputation as a successful, if unpopular fighter might prompt the same stance from Bellator, Rebney dismissed a connection.

“It’s just the fit wasn’t right,” he said. “And I like Jon Fitch.”

Bellator’s middleweight division is now topped by Russian Alexander Shlemenko, who succeeded Hector Lombard when he signed with the UFC. Earlier this month, Shlemenko successfully defended his title against Brett Cooper, who stepped in for injured Season 8 tournament winner Doug Marshall.

Okami’s skills and experience likely would make him an instant contender to the belt. But Rebney said Bellator is more focused on finishing its Season 9 tournaments and first pay-per-view offering than signing new fighters.

“There are times during the year that open up where we’ve got a lot more flexibility to consider stuff, and there’s other times where we’re just like a train on the track,” he said.

For more on Bellator’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Bjorn Rebney)