UFC 134 Rio: Silva vs. Okami II – Preview & Live Event Coverage

UFC 134 Rio: Silva vs. Okami II – Preview & Live Event Coverage

By Justin Bolduc

 

 

*Click here for UFC 134 Rio Live Weigh-In Results*

*Click here for PunchDrunkGamer’s UFC 134 Rio Guest Panel Main Event Picks*

*Click here for Live Results & Round by Round Event Coverage & Discussion*

 

 

This weekend the UFC makes one of its biggest moves when it returns to Brazil for the first time since 1998’s UFC 17.5 (UFC Ultimate Brazil). The event marks the first UFC in Brazil under Zuffa’s ownership and is a huge international move from the company who has primarily worked on expansion into Canada and Europe.

In the main event the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva looks to avenge a disqualification loss to Yushin Okami. Supporting is a high-profile co-main event rematch between former UFC light heavyweight champion and PRIDE’s 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and former UFC light heavyweight champion and The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner Forrest Griffin.

The main card also features former PRIDE and UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira against The Ultimate Fighter 10 finalist Brendan Schaub. In PDG’s Match-Up of the Night The Ultimate Fighter 9 winner Ross Pearson takes on Brazil’s undefeated Edson Barboza. The final main card bout features Brazilian light heavyweight Luiz Cane against UFC newcomer Stanislav Nedkov.

The preliminary portion of the card will air in Brazil, while two will air on Spike TV in the United States, on Sportsnet in Canada, and at UFC.tv in the UK. The first Spike TV broadcast bout will feature Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Rousimar Palhares against former IFL champion Dan Miller. The other bout will feature lightweights Thiago Tavares and Spencer Fisher.

While the remaining preliminary card will be broadcast in Brazil, the UFC will make the bouts free to the rest of the world once again through their official Facebook page. The remainder of the card, which features a Brazilian in every bout but one, features Paulo Thiago against David Mitchell, Raphael Assuncao against Johnny Eduardo, Erick Silva against Luis Ramos, Yuri Alcantara against Felipe Arantes, and Yves Jabouin against Ian Loveland.

 

 

Anderson Silva (30-4) vs. Yushin Okami (26-5)

UFC Middleweight Championship

 

Anderson Silva joined the UFC known to hardcore fans as a devastating striker, but to casual fans was expected to lose to Chris Leben. UFC brass knew what they were getting however, and Silva dismantled Leben in only forty-eight seconds, earning a title shot against Rich Franklin. Silva made short work of Franklin to earn the UFC’s middleweight title.

His next bout was against The Ultimate Fighter 4 winner Travis Lutter, but Lutter’s failure to make weight found the bout contested as a non-title affair. Silva submitted Lutter with a triangle choke before winning his first official title defense against former King of Pancrase Nate Marquardt. After another TKO stoppage against Rich Franklin and a submission win over former two-divisional PRIDE champion Dan Henderson, Silva moved up to light heavyweight where he knocked out James Irvin in sixty-one seconds.

Silva returned to middleweight where he won a pair of lackluster bouts against Patrick Cote and Thales Leites before returning to light heavyweight where he knocked out former UFC champion and TUF 1 winner Forrest Griffin. Another lackluster title defense followed over Demian Maia before Silva faced Chael Sonnen. Sonnen used more effective striking, takedowns, and ground and pound to almost seal a unanimous decision, but with less than two minutes remaining in the bout Silva was able to pull out a fight-ending triangle choke to retain his title. Most recently Silva knocked out Vitor Belfort in spectacular fashion to cap off a fourteen fight win streak (13 in the UFC, eight title defenses).

 

Quick Facts:

 

UFC Record: 13-0 (8 TKO, 3 Sub)

Strengths: Elite striking, evasive, Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt

Weaknesses: Mediocre wrestling

Key Wins: Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin (2), Vitor Belfort, Demian Maia, Chael Sonnen, Forrest Griffin, Chris Leben, Nate Marquardt, Patrick Cote, Travis Lutter, James Irvin, Thales Leites, Jeremy Horn, Jorge Rivera, Carlos Newton, Hayato Sakurai, Lee Murray, Roan Carneiro, Fabricio Camoes

Notable Losses: Ryo Chonan, Daiju Takase, Luiz Azeredo, Yushin Okami (DQ)

 

 

Yushin Okami has established himself as one of the premiere middleweights in the world, and as one of the greatest Japanese fighters the sport has seen. Okami, who joined the UFC in 2006, has amassed a 10-2 record in the promotion.

In his UFC debut, Okami won a decision over Alan Belcher. He then stopped Kalib Starnes early in the third round, before submitting Rory Singer with punches. Okami then met up with former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin, losing a close decision. Okami then won a decision over Jason MacDonald before knocking out former UFC champion Evan Tanner. After a decision win over Dean Lister, Okami lost a decision to Chael Sonnen.

Most recently Okami has found himself on a three-fight win streak. Okami rebounded with a second round doctor’s stoppage against Lucio Linhares before edging out a split decision over Mark Munoz. Most recently Okami earned a unanimous decision over former King of Pancrase Nate Marquardt in November.

 

Quick Facts:

 

UFC Record: 10-2 (3 TKO, 1 Sub)

Strengths: Good wrestling, strong jab, physically strength

Weaknesses: Struggles most without the takedown

Key Wins: Nate Marquardt, Evan Tanner, Lucio Linhares, Mark Munoz, Dean Lister, Jason MacDonald, Nick Thompson, Alan Belcher, Kalib Starnes, Rory Singer, Ryuta Sakurai, Hidehiko Hasegawa, Izuru Takeuchi, Anderson Silva (DQ)

Notable Losses: Jake Shields, Chael Sonnen, Rich Franklin, Amar Suloev, Falaniko Vitale

 

 

 

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-5) vs. Forrest Griffin (18-6)

Co-Main Event

 

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua rose to the top of the list at 205 pounds with his run in PRIDE, including winning the promotion’s 2005 tournament. Under the PRIDE banner “Shogun” secured wins over Alistair Overeem (twice), Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Ricardo Arona, and Kazuhiro Nakamura.

In his UFC debut Rua was upset by former UFC champion and TUF 1 winner Forrest Griffin by third round rear naked choke. Knee injuries sidelined the international superstar and caused a lackluster return in a rematch with Mark Coleman. After knocking out Coleman, “Shogun” returned to form with a knockout of former UFC champion Chuck Liddell.

Rua then challenged previously undefeated Lyoto Machida for the UFC’s light heavyweight championship, but lost a controversial decision. In an immediate rematch Rua knocked out Machida in the first round, but most recently lost his first title defense in a one-sided bout with Jon Jones at UFC 128 in March.

 

Quick Facts:

 

UFC Record: 3-3 (3 TKO)

Strengths: Aggressive, good striking, Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt

Weaknesses: Wrestling

Key Wins: Lyoto Machida, Chuck Liddell, Alistair Overeem (2), Ricardo Arona, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Quinton Jackson, Cyrille Diabate, Kevin Randleman, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Akihiro Gono, Evangelista Santos, Mark Coleman

Notable Losses: Jon Jones, Forrest Griffin, Mark Coleman, Lyoto Machida, Renato Sobral

 

 

Forrest Griffin‘s participation on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter helped propel mixed martial arts into the mainstream. The UFC and Spike TV teamed up for the reality show which brought in new viewers and the finale between Griffin and Stephan Bonnar went down as one of the most entertaining fights in the sport’s history. Griffin has since compiled a promotional record of 9-4 and had earned the UFC light heavyweight title in the process.

After defeating Bonnar, Griffin secured a rear naked choke against Bill Mahood and a TKO over Elvis Sinosic. He then stepped up in competition against former UFC champion Tito Ortiz, but lost a close decision. Griffin rebounded with a victory in a rematch with Bonnar before being upset by knockout against Keith Jardine. After a unanimous decision over Hector Ramirez, Griffin upset PRIDE star Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by rear naked choke to earn a shot at the light heavyweight title.

Challenging Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Griffin utilized leg kicks to set up a unanimous decision. In his first title defense he was knocked out by Rashad Evans, then was knocked out in a second consecutive defeat by UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Most recently Griffin has found himself on a two fight win streak, earning a split decision over Tito Ortiz and a unanimous decision over Rich Franklin.

 

Quick Facts:

 

UFC Record: 9-4 (1 TKO, 2 Sub)

Strengths: Durable, size, conditioning

Weaknesses: Lacks stopping power

Key Wins: Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson, Tito Ortiz, Rich Franklin, Stephan Bonnar (2), Chael Sonnen, Jeff Monson, Hector Ramirez

Notable Losses: Anderson Silva, Rashad Evans, Keith Jardine, Tito Ortiz, Dan Severn, Jeremy Horn

 

 

 

Additional Thoughts:

* In a heavyweight division positioning battle, Ultimate Fighter alum Brendan Schaub (8-1) looks to win his fifth straight UFC fight as he takes on former PRIDE legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1-1). Nogueira has had mixed results since making his move to the UFC with wins over Randy Couture, Heath Herring and taking the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship with a win over Tim Sylvia but losses to Frank Mir and most recently to Cain Velasquez have some in the sport questioning how much longer the great Brazilian will be stepping into the Octagon. Since getting knocked out at The Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights Finale by Roy Nelson, Schaub has won four fights in row with wins over Mirko Cro Cop, Gabriel Gonzaga, Chris Tuchscherer and Chase Gormley.

 

* Ross Pearson (12-4) and Edson Barboza (8-0) square off in PDG’s Match-Up of the Night. Pearson was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 and has gone 4-1 so far in his UFC career with wins over Spencer Fisher, Dennis Siver, Aaron Riley and Andre Winner and suffering his only defeat at the hands of Cole Miller. Barboza will be entering the Octagon for the third time in less than a year as he looks to maintain his perfect record in MMA. The Muay Thai veteran from Brazil holds a notable win over Anthony Njokuani that earned him Fight of the Night honors at UFC 128.

 

* The opening bout of Saturday’s card features light heavyweight Brazilian Luiz Cane (11-3-1) against UFC newcomer Stanislov Nedkov (11-0). Cane enters the bout with a 4-3 UFC record. In his UFC debut he lost by disqualification to James Irvin, but was able to put together a pair of knockouts against Jason Lambert and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Cane extended his streak to three with a decision over former WEC champion Steve Cantwell before dropping back-to-back bouts to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Cyrille Diabate. Most recently Cane stopped Eliot Marshall in the first round at UFC 128. Nedkov was previously scheduled to make his UFC debut on two prior occasions. First Nedkov was slated to fight Rodney Wallace at UFC 117, but was forced off the card due to injury. Most recently he was scheduled to fight Steve Cantwell, but Cantwell suffered a knee injury days before the bout. Nedkov’s most notable performances have come under the SRC banner where he knocked out Travis Wiuff and edged out a decision against Kevin Randleman. Nedkov has also competed in Shooto – Bulgaria and Pancrase.

 

 

 

UFC 134 Fight Card

 

Main Card:

Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami (UFC Middleweight Championship)

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Forrest Griffin (Co-Main Event)

Brendan Schaub vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza (PDG’s Match-Up of the Night)

Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov

 

Preliminary Card (Spike TV):

Thiago Tavares vs. Spencer Fisher

Rousimar Palhares vs. Dan Miller*

 

Preliminary Card (Facebook):

Paulo Thiago vs. David Mitchell

Raphael Assuncao vs. Johnny Eduardo

Erick Silva vs. Luis Ramos

Yuri Alcantara vs. Felipe Arantas

Yves Jabouin vs. Ian Loveland

 

* PDG is sponsoring Dan Miller for his fight against Palhares.