An extremely bronzed Akiyama (Getty)
Sure the weigh-in for UFC 144 was a little later than normal, but it certainly delivered. There was a new Octagon girl, one fighter appeared to have just walked off the set of "Jersey Shore" and Quinton Jackson already booked himself his next fight.
Yoshihiro Akiyama brought it big time channeling the powers of GTL. We're not sure about the laundry part, but Akiyama certainly hit the gym to get down from his old weight of 185 to his new division down at 170. He also put Snooki to shame with a beautiful tan.
Meanwhile, it was pretty clear Jackson missed a lot of his gym time. Jackson, who gave hints that he might miss weight during the Dana White's second vlog (2:03 mark), clocked in at a hefty 211 for his fight at 205 pounds. Fuel TV's guest analyst Rich Franklin was exasperated and basically called it a joke. "Rampage" got wind of the comments and snapped at Franklin.
"My friend already texted me what Rich Franklin said and Rich Franklin need to watch his mouth before I smack him the next time I see him. He a fighter the same way I'm a fighter, he should watch what he say," Jackson said (1:50 mark). "You don't question if a fighter is taking his fight serious or not. I'm a fighter, I take all my fights serious and I'm tired of people saying that."
Jackson is dead wrong here. Franklin did his job and Jackson's focus for the fight is absolutely in question.
Looking for further satisfy the Japanese audience, the UFC held auditions for a new UFC 144 Octagon girl. They came up with a former Miss Japan contestant in Azusa Nishigaki.
Nishigaki during UFC 144 weigh-in
Fuel TV's Ariel Helwani caught up with Nishigaki here.
Watch UFC 144 right here on Yahoo! Sports
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