Yoshihiro Akiyama said fans in the Land of the Rising Sun aren’t familiar with the tongue-in-cheek nickname that stateside fans have for him, and it’s been awhile since they’ve seen him at all.

Nonetheless, he feels it’s his responsibility to show why American fans have taken such a liking to him and to make UFC 144 a success.

Today’s event takes place at the Ritz-Carlton in Tokyo with UFC
president Dana White and UFC 144 fighters Frankie Edgar, Benson Henderson, Quinton Jackson, Ryan Bader, Yoshihiro Akiyama and Jake Shields

The video stream begins at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT (Thursday 3 p.m. local time).

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker today announced the new booking.

Souza’s original opponent, undefeated Derek Brunson, was forced off the card on Tuesday after failing a pre-event vision test.

A formal disciplinary hearing is now expected at a date to be determined.

Now-UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit outpointed Diaz at UFC 143 on Feb. 4 in Las Vegas. Diaz’s post-fight drug test then revealed the presence of marijuana metabolites.

Now, you can watch the full hour-long episode here.

The show debuts Saturday’s big UFC 144 event, which takes place at
Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, with a lightweight-championship
headliner between champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Benson Henderson.

But Edgar, who puts his UFC lightweight title on the line at Saturday’s big UFC 144 event in Japan, doesn’t believe size will be an issue at the event.

After all, he’s used to being the 155-pound division’s little guy.

Sources close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com that San Jose, Calif.’s HP Pavilion is targeted for a Strikeforce event on May 19, though the location has yet to be finalized.

No matchups have been confirmed for the event’s fight lineup, which would include a main card on Showtime and prelims on Showtime Extreme.

Ryan Bader welcomes that when they meet Saturday in the co-main draw of the pay-per-view event, but he’s not going to fall prey to Jackson’s specialties.

And that means no getting slammed to the mat by the former PRIDE star.

“I’ve been a bouncer for 10 years,” Kraniotakes, who fights Dmitry Poberezhets at Cage Warriors 46, told MMAjunkie.com Radio. “I think I’m used to that aggression in the air and adrenaline.”

But as much of a benefit as that is when it comes to the speed and fury of a fight, it’s also a hindrance.

Today’s weigh-ins took place in Kiev, Ukraine. The city’s Stereo Plaza hosts Thursday’s event, which includes a live main-card stream on MMAjunkie.com beginning at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) following a one-hour Facebook preliminary-card stream at 1 p.m. ET.

Not all fighters made weight, though.

Fourteen months after defeating Henderson in the WEC’s final event, Pettis now watches his former foe taking a headlining slot in a championship bout on a huge UFC event.

But rather than regret or jealousy, Pettis said it simply provides motivation as he prepares for his UFC 144 bout with fellow contender Joe Lauzon.

We also talk to Legacy Fighting 10 headliner Gerald Harris, UFC
on FX 2′s Steven Siler, Titan Fighting 21 headliner Jorge Santiago,
“Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey” fighter Roger Bowling, and UFC vet Daniel
Roberts.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from noon to 2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Listen to and
watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.